


Break

by eyrk



Series: Project ORACLE [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, justice league - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-08-11
Packaged: 2018-01-25 01:04:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 89,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1623395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyrk/pseuds/eyrk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of Unthinkable, Felicity burns out from Arrow activities. So she takes a step back to get some air. This story tracks Felicity's journey of becoming a heroine in her own right as she helps form the Justice League.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 PART I          

 

            When they get back from the island, Felicity only sees the traces of what Slade’s men left behind. Her city is limping along, slowly picking up the pieces and she realizes she was a part of this. No, she didn’t cause this to happen – that was all Slade. Felicity refuses to blame anyone else. But there was no denying that she was an agent in the midst of all the chaos. She had choices, made decisions about the fate of her city. Her neighbors never got that choice to be anything other than victims.

            She can’t help but cast glances at Oliver while setting up her computers in their new lair. She knows what he’s thinking when his eyes settle on something invisible far out on the horizon. He’s had far too many losses – his mother, Thea, and so on. But he goes out on his nightly patrols, surveying the damage, with the knowledge that Slade came into Starling City for him and laid waste to anything that came in between them. The cost of it lies heavily on his shoulders and it’s starting to crush anything _excess_ out of him.

            Felicity realizes that word makes no sense but his words are short and few. He’s focused on rebuilding the city, rebuilding his life as just Oliver Queen without the extra dollar signs attached. She was able to find him a job as a manager at another night club seeing as he’s got some experience in it. He still charms his way through everyday life but that front has been slowly fading especially now that Laurel is in on the secret. He doesn’t know how to straddle the lines anymore and he’s just living as Oliver who needs to pay his bills and who has a stressful part time job as the Arrow. There is no excess to him and he keeps only what is necessary to live post-Slade.

            She knows that he cares about her and Diggle and Roy and Team Arrow.  His gruffness has been hard to take but it’s not about that anymore. Felicity lives and breathes Arrow and her heart beats with Starling City. With all of the patrols and nights of monitoring, there is nothing she doesn’t know about this place. She feels the pulse of the city underneath her fingertips. But lately, it’s been harder to come in and sit in front of those computers. It’s been harder to encourage Oliver when he gets into guilt mode but she does it anyway for him, for Starling City.

            Felicity cares about this man more than she’s cared about anyone else – except maybe for Diggle. But now when she sees him, she just wants to run away to a place where no one can find her. But Thea’s already done that to him. Felicity’s always a step behind.  So she just lets her heart settle in and she braces herself. For what? She has no clue.

She still found a way to escape somehow.  She found a job at Wayne Enterprises as an IT consultant and she took it because she could work from home. She patches in for team meetings and after proving her competence and a delightful dinner, she’s been given some work directly from Lucius Fox. Felicity appreciates the easy going warmth and his wisdom. This piece of her life is hers alone and it feels so damn good. She finds herself really looking forward to her monthly forays into Gotham to have dinner with Lucius. But still, she’s tired.

            “Hey. Earth to Felicity,” Diggle puts his large hand on her shoulder and she looks up from the wires.

            “Yeah?” she asks.

            “You’ve been holding onto that cord for awhile now. You okay?” She smiles at the concern in his eyes and she wonders where she would be without him. Then Felicity glances at Oliver who’s busy working on his salmon ladder, out of earshot. She looks down again to avoid Diggle’s knowing glance.

            “I’m just…thinking.”

            “Yes, you usually are. About what?”

            She pauses and looks straight up at him with some defiance.

            “I do good work here. I help you guys. You guys would not be the same without me.” Felicity refuses to wince at how conceited that all kind of came out but to his credit, Diggle’s face doesn’t change.

            “That is very true,” he replies while he squeezes her shoulder.

            “I – I love what I do here. I do. You have no idea. Well, actually you probably have some idea because we’re friends and I’m always here. Not here, here in this lair exactly but here, Arrow here. God. Sorry. But that’s the point. I’m always here.”

            Diggle’s eyes get all understanding and knowing and he sneaks in a look over his shoulder at Oliver. She follows his gaze and notices that the Arrow’s pace has slowed a little. Dig turns back to her.

            “I think you’re burned out.”

            “I know.” Her reply surprises her and she pushes up her glasses before they slide down her nose.

            “Do you need a break? It’s okay to take a step back. We would _both_ understand. We’ve all been through a lot.”

            Felicity chuckles.

            “That would be the understatement of the year. But how can I? I told him to keep fighting. I pushed him when he was ready to quit. How can I turn around and tell him that I need some time to breathe?”

            Diggle remains silent, urging her to continue.

            “That I just need some air?”

            He reaches out and gives her a hug. It’s strange. Is this the first time Diggle’s ever hugged her? He’s a huge mass around her and she just feels covered in companionship. There’s a lump in a throat as Felicity realizes that she’s been feeling lonely lately.  When he pulls away, he smiles at her and pats her head. He leaves to go to Oliver for sparring practice and she knows that she’s been given something.

            _Permission._

            Permission to not have her heart so enwrapped in the trio and to step out for some air. Permission that wasn’t really permission but knowledge that she would never be judged by Diggle or Oliver.

            So after she hooks all of the computers up and it looks just the way she wants it, she stands up and brushes her hands off. Her two teammates are fighting and the familiar grunts are echoing off the walls. This place is home but it is not what she needs right now. So she walks away without a glance over her shoulder and enjoys the way her heels click against the cement as the sounds of her boys fade away.

 

 

            


	2. Chapter 2

Felicity opens her eyes as the sunlight peeks in through the cracks of her drapes. When she lifts herself up to rest her back against her headboard, she lets out a deep sigh. She doesn’t have to look at her phone screen to know that it is late morning, the latest she’s ever woken up in awhile. The corners of her lips turn up slightly into a small smile. This feels…nice.

            She takes her sweet time with her morning routine: emails, turning on laptops, cursory glances at headlines, checking her systems, shower, dress, and then returning to her screens to watch over her city. She’s got to stop calling it her city but she can’t help it. After a few months of hearing Oliver calling it his, Felicity made it her own habit. Sure, Oliver knows the landscape and the people like he knows his own thoughts. But she has the numbers, the camera feeds, the whispers over the internet – each little thread intertwined to cast a large web over the bones of Starling City. A tiny tug and she’s right on it with a quick tap on her speed dial.

            But today, it’s quiet and Felicity’s relieved. After the coffee maker starts groaning, she sinks into the couch and just listens to the birds chirping near her window. The sudden knock on her door makes her gasp and jump a little bit.

            The chain on her door falls away and when she pulls open her door with some effort, she sees Oliver.

            “Hi,” Felicity blurts out.

            Oliver puts a hand on the side of her doorway and examines it.

            “Your door sticks.”

            “I know, I got used to it,” she replies, her mind whirling. Can he see her living room at this angle? Are there any bras lying around that she needs to hide? What the hell is he doing here? She steps out into the hallway.

            “Hey,” he says in that ridiculous way that nearly makes her knees knock together. Does he know what he sounds like when he says that? Felicity is grateful that he didn’t pair it with a hand on the shoulder. It kills her when he does that. Every. Damn. Time.

            “Hi. I think I said that already.”

            Oliver bites his lip before he just comes out with it.

            “You make us better. You make Arrow better. I know that I’ve been – it’s been rough,” he says as he crosses his arms, which only highlights the strain of his muscles against his sleeves.  Felicity shakes her head, partly in rebuttal and partly to shake the image of his biceps out of her head.

            “It’s not your faul –” she starts to say for the billionth time but he sticks out a hand to stop her. And she’s thankful because she’s tired of saying it.

            “I know. I need you. We can’t do this without you, but we need you…whole,” Oliver pauses to hold her gaze, “I didn’t see that all of this would have an effect on you as well.”

            Felicity looks down at the floor only to feel the slightest touch on the side of her face. Even then, she can’t bear to lift her eyes up at him because she doesn’t want to read his face. It’ll only make it harder. He shifts his weight so that he’s a little closer to her, his fingertips still on her cheek, but he doesn’t force her to look up.

            “I’m sorry,” he rasps out and then steps back. After he clears his throat, he speaks again, “Come back when you’re ready.”

            “Okay,” she replies and turns to go back inside.

            “Please come back,” Oliver says with a strain on his voice. Felicity looks over her shoulder and she can see that there is doubt in his eyes. Her heart lurches and she wants to throw her arms around him. How could he ever think…? But something stops her and she can’t say the words that he wants to hear.  She just hopes that her watery smile will say it all.

            “Bye, Oliver. Say hi to John for me.”

            He nods and then the door is shut.

 

 

            For the first few days, it’s weird. When the sun starts to go down, she finds herself getting ready to head out for the lair and it takes a few seconds before Felicity slides her feet out of her high heels. That’s when she pours out some wine into a glass and throws herself into her work for Wayne Enterprises after she turns up the volume on Marvin Gaye.

            Her Chinese takeout surrounds her long enough to guilt her into going for runs in the morning. And soon she builds up a routine that works for her but she wonders if this is what Oliver meant by being whole – acting like a normal working girl in her 20s without much of a social life. There’s an ache in her that, in moments of weakness, makes her want to scrap the whole thing and just march her way back to Oliver and John. Then she remembers that this was her life before Oliver swept into her cubicle and she did just fine then.

            The work that Lucius gives her gets more and more intriguing. She’s designing a security system for the company’s Applied Sciences Division and some of the schematics that she sees raise her eyebrow. When she sees a diagram of a strange, large vehicle, Felicity is reminded of Oliver. She could just see the Arrow steamrolling all of his enemies through the streets of Starling City instead of maneuvering through traffic on that crazy motorcycle of his. But it isn’t exactly his style. Then an invoice for thousands of some sort of kevlar suits catches her eye. Encounters with strange items in a multi billion dollar company…

            “Oh hell no. Not again.”

 

 

            “What exactly are you doing in the Applied Sciences Division? Uh…sir,” Felicity stammers.

            The elderly man sitting across the table chuckles after he dabs at his mouth with the cloth napkin. He drops the napkin back onto his lap. Lucius Fox meets her eyes and she suddenly feels at ease.

            “I knew I picked a good one,” he says and she could almost hear his good charm rumble deep from his chest. He leans in, “What do _you_ think is happening in our little Applied Sciences Division, Miss Smoak?”

            Felicity leans back.

            “You can’t really stay in Gotham for too long without hearing rumors,” she pauses for his reaction. He only gives her a smile and motions for her to continue.

           “Um, crazy rumors about a certain man fighting crime in a batsuit…” Felicity trails off but her gaze becomes fierce as her confidence in her deduction skills returns. “So crazy that it’s most likely true.”

            “And what does a crazy man dressed as a bat have anything to do with Wayne Enterprise?” he asks with his hands open wide. He still has that smile on his face and she can’t help but return it.

            “Well, sir, I think Wayne Enterprise is funding his nighttime activities. And I didn’t just happen to see the schematics by accident. You wanted me to make the connection. You knew I’d be smart enough. I mean, not smart but I don’t know –”

            “Yes, smart. You have intelligence that comes with experience.”

            Felicity crinkles her nose.

            “Experience in flying around in a batsuit?”

            The waiter interrupts their thoughts as he refills their water. Then he brandishes a bottle of champagne that Felicity doesn’t remember Lucius ordering.

            “This is from the lady.”

            They both follow his gaze to the back of a woman with long wavy red hair. She’s talking to another woman rather animatedly and pays no attention to them. Felicity notices a glint of metal and realizes that she is sitting in a wheelchair. Felicity turns back to Lucius.

            “Thank you,” Lucius says to the waiter. The waiter gives him a nod and leaves the table.

            “Someone you know?” she asks. He grins.

            “Yes, a good friend of mine. Perhaps I’ll introduce you to her one day.”

            Felicity nods but her thoughts are elsewhere. Her phone has just started to vibrate and she knows that her systems have found something wrong at home.

            “Felicity, when I first met you, it was clear to me that you were unhappy. And I can tell that you are still unhappy but you are intrigued about my – our work. Something tells me that you thrive on curiosity – that you can’t just very well leave things alone when they catch your attention. I think you make a wonderful addition to the company and I actually called you over for a reason. At Wayne Enterprise, we’ve decided to start a new project and I want to know if you want to be a part of it.”

            She forgets about her phone and she gently puts her fork down.

            “What project?”

            Lucius coughs.

            “The name of it was not my idea, but for now it’s called ORACLE. Before I give you the details though, I want to say one thing. Do not rush into this. Take your time and think. I know that the times have been difficult for you and your friends.”

            Felicity brings her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Of course, information and rumors travel both ways. She feels her stomach turn as her phone starts going off again. She tears her eyes away from Lucius to finally check her alerts.  Her face pales after she reads them quickly and she abruptly stands. Her boss stands up with concern.

            “Are you alright?”

            “I’m sorry, Lucius – I mean, sir. I – I have to go. Thank you so much for dinner.”

            As she hurries out of the restaurant, she hits the speed dial button on her phone.

            “Come on, Diggle. Pick up,” she whispers.

 

 

            Felicity charges into the lair, shouting, “Oliver! Dig!”

            The two men turn at the sound of her voice. Oliver is sitting on the med table, shirtless and hunched over. There’s blood pooling underneath his bandages on his shoulder and Diggle’s got a swollen eye that’s bound to turn all shades of purple in a few minutes.

            “Oh my God. Are you guys okay?”

            She strides furiously towards them and is about to reach for Diggle when he sheepishly lifts an icepack.

            “I’m fine. Him on the other hand…”

            “I’ll be fine. What are you doing here?” Oliver asks and Felicity halts. Only a few days ago, this question would never had been asked.

            “I got alerts about a robbery and an explosion at Queen Consolidated or whatever it’s called now.  There were Arrow sightings. So I came to make sure you guys were all right. What did you go in there for?”

            Diggle and Oliver exchange glances before John speaks up.

            “It’s a long story, Felicity. But we’re okay. It’s good to see you though.”

            “Oh. Right. Yeah, same.”

            She tries to force a smile and Diggle gives her a squeeze in the arm before he leaves the lair mumbling about how Lyla was going to kill him.

            “Thank you for coming,” Oliver says after a moment of silence, “Dig’s right. It is good to see you.”

            Felicity sighs and walks toward to the medicine cabinet to pull out what she needs. When she gets back to Oliver, she gives him a stern look and he lifts his arm up slightly so that she can bandage him properly. He hisses slightly and glares at her when she accidentally grazes his skin.

            She glares at him right back and blurts out, “Oh stop being a baby.” His eyes soften as he grins.

            “How are you, Felicity?” he asks.

            She’s not sure exactly how to answer this question, but she might as well be honest.

            “Confused. I just came from Gotham. I had a meeting with my boss, my new boss and it’s just a lot to take in. And God, Oliver, I think he knows about –“

            Oliver grasps her arm.

            “Hey. It’s going to be okay.”

            “I know, but –”

            “Felicity, I know you. You are smart and capable. Whatever it is, you can do it.”

            Felicity yanks her arm out of his grasp.

            “You don’t even know what I’m trying to say. I know I’m smart and capable, Oliver. I don’t need you to tell me this. I don’t need you to – to patronize me. I just want you to _listen_. You never listen to me or Diggle –”

            Oliver gets off from the table and steps toward her. Only when she sees his worry does she feel the tears welling over.  She doesn’t bother wiping them away.

            “Felicity.”

            “Is everything okay?” a voice says from behind them.

            Felicity turns to face Laurel. She seems unsure at the sight of Felicity’s tears but with one look at Oliver’s wounds, it doesn’t look like she wants to leave. So Felicity does all three of them a favor and walks past her, out of the lair, and into the chilly night.


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity calls Lucius straightaway and she’s on the first train to Gotham. As she watches Starling City’s skyscrapers flit past her window, she wonders if she’s doing the right thing. Is she just trading one vigilante for another? Felicity hears a clang that nearly has her out of her seat. Her eyes land on a boy and his mother sitting across from her. The mother smiles apologetically and reaches forward to grab the toy that boy dropped. It’s homemade - a wooden figure of a man that’s painted blue with a red piece of cloth attached around his neck.

            “Cool toy,” Felicity remarks with a warm smile. The boy grabs the toy.

            “My dad made it,” he says quietly, hiding a little bit in his mother’s arms. His mother looks down at him with a gaze that Felicity can only describe as a mother’s love. She bends down to kiss the top of his head and then smiles at Felicity again.

            “He’s got such an imagination. So much like his father.”

            There’s a pang in her chest but Felicity ignores it.

            “Heading to Gotham?”

            “Oh no. We’re going back home to Metropolis,” the mother replies. Felicity arches her eyebrow.

            “Wow, long trek.” She’s never been to Metropolis but she imagines the golden sunlight reflecting off of tall, winding towers.

            “I have a sister in Starling City. But we’ve missed Metropolis,” the woman hesitated, “Nothing against Starling City. It’s just not home.”

            Felicity grins.

            “I get it. The whole ‘no place like home’ thing.”

            The rest of the journey is quiet with both the boy and mother asleep. Fields, old junkyards, rivers pass by but thoughts of Oliver keeps floating up in her head. Why did she blow up at him like that? She was trying to warn him that Lucius knew about him, about _them_. But the way he tried to turn it into a pep talk made her temper flare up. She didn’t need a pep talk just then. Felicity needed to do her job and provide him with crucial information. When she saw Laurel, she understood that she wasn’t what Oliver needed at the moment.

            Felicity knows Oliver loves Laurel. It’s a bond that will never be broken but it’s also a bond to his past. A past before Arrow and a past before her and Diggle. She’s okay with that and she’s always been okay with that. Except for last night, seeing Laurel worried for Oliver in the _lair_ , she wonders how much of Oliver’s past will overshadow his life now.

            Gotham hits suddenly like it always does. The overwhelming sense of dread that smothers the city makes its way inside the train. If Metropolis is golden sunlight, then Gotham is smog and grit. That’s the only way she can describe it. There’s an incredible weight on Gotham that makes the Glades seem like a walk in the park.  Felicity feels uneasy but she can’t help but feel a spark of excitement whenever she comes here. The train eases into its stop and she smiles her goodbyes to the boy and his mother.

            She recognizes the two men dressed in black suits that are waiting for her and they guide her into a sleek black car. They open it and she sees Lucius Fox slide over to give her some room.

            “Sir,” Felicity nods. He rolls his eyes.

            “I have a name. It’s Lucius. Please use it.”

            “Sorry, sir. Lucius. God. I’ll get used to it.”

            He chuckles and lifts his eyebrow.

            “You have no trouble calling your former boss by his first name.”

            “Well, he’s also not - like 80 years old. No, no, no, no. Oh God, I know you’re not that old. I just mean, you seem so wise and he’s an idiot. You can’t really call an idiot something other than his first name. Please don’t fire me.” Felicity shuts her eyes and breathes out. She opens one eye slowly when all she hears is laughter.

            “I’ll have you know that I am 62 years old. Not quite 80. And your boss sounds like my boss.”

            She opens both of her eyes and feels them widen in curiosity.

            “I thought you were your own boss.”

            He leans back but she can still see the good humor in his eyes.

            “It’s complicated, Miss Smoak. But I’m glad you called me. Is everything alright? You left in a rush and you left me to eat the dessert all by myself.”

            Felicity cringes.

            “So sorry. The boys just got themselves in a pickle and by pickle, I mean explosion. I guess I still have separation anxiety.”

            “So it’s true. You are on hiatus with Green Arrow.”

            “I suppose you – Green Arrow?” she asks crinkling her nose. She’s not sure she likes that codename.  Lucius shrugs.

            “It’s what we call him here. He seems to be fond of green tights.”

            Felicity laughs.

 

  

            Lucius takes her underground of Wayne Enterprise and it’s a bit of a letdown when she’s put in a tiny office. A young lady slides her a stack of papers and cracks her gum.

            “Confidentiality papers.  Please sign.”

            Felicity swings her chair around to look up at Lucius who is standing behind her.

            “Protocol,” he explains. Her hand begins to cramp by the twenty-sixth page. Once she’s finally done, she’s taken through corridor after corridor until she sees double doors with multiple warnings on it. Lucius takes a lanyard out of his pocket and she sees a picture of herself on it.

            “For you. Put your thumb on the bottom and then hold it up against the panel. It needs both your ID badge and your thumbprint.” He holds it out for her and she grabs it. Holding her breath, Felicity follows his instructions.

            The doors slide open and she is in a large open space with bright lights. But she focuses right away on a beautiful red haired woman who is sitting in a wheelchair. Behind her are rows of computers and machines and it’s a sight so wondrous that she lets out a tiny gasp.

            “Welcome to Project ORACLE,” the woman states.

            “Um,” she stammers back. Lucius rolls his eyes once more.

            “I know, the name’s a bit dramatic,” he murmurs into Felicity’s ear before he strides to the woman to give her a peck on her pale cheek.

            “Barbara,” he says.

            “Hello, Lucius. Did you enjoy the champagne?”

            Felicity walks up to them trying not to gape at the sight around her. When she sees one computer, she opens her mouth.

            “Holy sh – is that –”

            “Yes, it is. Even A.R.G.U.S. wouldn’t have one of these babies,” the woman replies with a playful tone. Felicity throws an alarmed look at her.

            “Felicity Smoak. Barbara Gordon. She’s been crucial in the building of Project ORACLE. She actually had a large hand in Wayne Enterprise hiring you.”

            “Thank you,” she says. She holds out a hand and Barbara Gordon shakes it with a firm grip.

            “Like I said, welcome.”

            Gordon touches a few of the screens and with a quiet hum, the machines wake up. With a few slides of the finger, Felicity sees lists of names and cities scrolling in front of her.

            “In a nutshell, Project ORACLE keeps track of exceptional people in the country. Surveillance, news headlines, databases, whatever it is, we take comprehensive notes.”

            “Exceptional people. You mean vigilantes like… Arrow.”

            Lucius nods.

            “But they’re not always vigilantes. There are people with special talents and skills. Most of them have been using it for the good of others.”

            Felicity shakes her head.

            “This is what A.R.G.U.S. does. All this surveillance and spying. Amanda Waller – ”

            “Has a perpetual stick up her ass. Excuse my language,” Gordon interrupts with a small amount of impatience and annoyance. It is at this moment when Felicity decides she likes this woman.

            “Excused. And I agree. But what makes you different? The project, I mean. You clearly don’t have a – anyway.”

            Gordon clasps her hands together and rests them on top of her slender lap. There is a sense of just barely bridled excitement around this woman.

            “We keep tabs on them to see their potential and growth. Once we think they’re ready, we want to reach out. Where there are exceptional people, there are always those that want to hurt others. Your friend fights his foes with his… merry men. He was barely able to defeat Deathstroke. But imagine, if he had an ally like himself to fight those who do terrible things. Trust me, there are a lot of horrible people out there – just like Deathstroke.” Gordon’s voice is firm and the look of excitement turns into steely determination.

            Felicity steps back.

            “Why do you want me for this?” she asks.

            “You have experience in dealing with…vigilantes, for the lack of a better word. You are also a MIT graduate with incredible skills. Your hacking, I must say – you have style,” Gordon’s voice softens.

            “Uh, thanks again?” she says. She looks to Lucius for some sense of security. She likes this woman but she’s a little intense. Lucius puts a hand on her shoulder.

            “Felicity, you are very likeable and approachable. Mr. Queen trusts you for a reason. In fact, everyone around you seems to trust you. We want you to be the point of contact – the one that reaches out to these people and tell them about our mission. Of course, we would use your technological skills as well. Barbara and you working together – well suffice to say that I fear for anyone who dares to cross you ladies.”

            She steps back from the both of them and turns around. She counts down from five under her breath. Felicity then turns back around.

            “So, what you’re saying is you want to build a - a club of heroes to deliver justice all around the country,” she says, hardly believing the words coming out of her mouth. Gordon smiles and crosses her arms.

            “Precisely.”

            Lucius frowns.

            “No, not club. Let’s call it a league, shall we?”

 

 

            Felicity is sent back down to Starling City with a mission. Gordon apparently keeps track of villains as well. (Felicity has long decided that the phrase, “people who do terrible things” could be shortened into this one word. She enjoys the comic book feel of it anyway. _Vil-lain._ ) A man who calls himself Smith has been controlling and threatening people through his use of his hacking skills. Felicity tried to push her memories of being an interrogator out of her mind during Gordon’s explanation. It was for a good reason, she tells herself. Anyway, he doesn’t seem to be based in one location and has his hand in everything. Smith has a group of men at his beck and call and they’re no cute little minions. Specialists from the Army, Smith strategically got all of the men to trust him and follow him.

            “He’s like a shadow. You only see a glimpse of him here or there, but he’s out there planning something. He’s got a man in your city. Fallon.”

            Fallon is known for his drug smuggling but the District Attorney’s office has never been able to get him convicted. Felicity knows his name and has his activities on file somewhere on her database. Oliver uncovered some of their shady business with her help but then Slade Wilson charged into their lives. Things kind of got crazy. Even in the midst of that, Felicity noticed that there was an increasing amount of activity on Fallon’s side.

            Gordon has reasons to believe that Fallon is working with Smith to smuggle something _out_ of the city. She wants Felicity on it. Felicity doesn’t know if this is all to prove her mettle or what but she finds it strange that they didn’t tell her to convince Oliver to join the club or league. Whatever the hell it is.

            So she goes back to Starling City and the first thing on her book of appointments is a meeting with Laurel Lance. Wonderful.

 

 

            As Laurel Lance comes up to her and takes a seat across from her, she wonders if the woman ever has a hair out of place or if she just wakes up like that in the morning. It dawns on her that this is the first time the two of them have met on their own. She nervously grasps her espresso and takes a sip. Felicity nods towards the drink in Laurel’s hand.

            “Iced latte. Nice choice,” she says.  Laurel curls her fingers around her glass.

            “Yes, well, I thought the weather called for it. So, let’s just get down to it. Why did you ask to meet me?”  Her tone of voice is not unkind but is wary. “Is it Oliver?”

            Felicity lets go of her cup with a bit of a nervous laugh.

            “No, actually. This isn’t about Oliver. Funnily enough.”

            Laurel sits back with some interest.

            “Oh. What is it then?”

            Felicity pulls out a manila folder out of her purple purse and after a few glances at her surroundings, she opens it on the table. Laurel leans in and peruses it with a slight frown.

            “Jack Fallon. He’s one of the biggest drug smugglers in Starling City. We caught him several times but we were never able to make the charges stick. Why are you looking into him?” Laurel asks as she finally lifts her gaze from the folder. Felicity’s not sure how to answer this question without lying.

            “I’m working on something.” She bites her lip as Laurel crosses her arms.

            “And this has nothing to do with Ollie?”

            Felicity nods.

            “Nope. Just a little side project I’m working on,” she replies. Laurel narrows her eyes.

            “Not so side I hear. I haven’t seen you around much lately. I thought you were part of the team,” she says.

            “It’s complicated, Laurel. I just need some time to work on other things.”

            “Other things like Jack Fallon. He’s no Slade Wilson, but he’s still dangerous, Felicity. Does Oliver know what you’re up to?”

            Felicity feels her temper rising and quickly tries to squelch it.

            “Listen, I appreciate your concern, but I know that you have one of Fallon’s men. Phil –”

            “Hark. Phil Hark. He’s in prison. We were able to get him. You want to talk to him?”

            Felicity nods again.

            “Please.”

            There’s a long silent pause as Laurel fiddles around with her latte. Clearly, there’s been something on her mind for a long time.

            “I know that we don’t really know each other. We’re only really connected through Ollie and my sister. But I know that they both trust you. Apparently for them – in the lives they lead now – that means a lot. My father’s mentioned you too. He likes you. He – he’s in a coma right now,” Laurel’s voice hitch a little bit and Felicity leans in. This woman is no stranger to loss yet she still sits there with determination. She sees much of Sara in her. Or is it the other way around?

            “I don’t mean to step on your toes, Felicity. Especially the other night. It’s just that Sara’s gone to who knows where. My dad, well, he’s not really here. I’ve lost the people around me that make me who I am. Except for Ollie.”

            Laurel’s eyes are getting glossy with tears and Felicity’s heart breaks for her. She knows what it means to be alone. She was able to grab onto Oliver for the promise of a future, but Laurel’s holding onto him as a way to be connected to her past.

            “I left home a long time ago. I don’t talk to my mother anymore and my father left us when I was a kid. When I left home, it was freeing and the most terrifying time of my life. But it made me into who I am,” Felicity’s mouth is moving on her own without her brain. Is she really telling this story to this woman?

            Laurel wipes her eyes, “What are you saying?”

            “Your dad, Sara, or Oliver don’t make you, you. It’s your life – shape your identity on who you are, what you love. It’s not about them. Find out who you are, Laurel.”

            Laurel smiles at her and sniffles.

            “Is that what you’re doing right now?” she asks. Felicity looks up at her with realization. She smiles back at her.

            “I guess so.”

            “Phil Hark. Tomorrow morning at ten. We’ll go together,” Laurel says with a small shy grin. Felicity gives her one as well.

            “Deal.”

 

 

            When Felicity plunges into the soft blankets of her bed, she gets a text from Diggle. It’s evening and she’s stinking tired but she opens the message anyway. What she sees makes her shoot up from her bed. It’s a picture of an ultrasound and there’s a little tiny thing in the middle of it. The ultrasound is stamped Michaels, Lyla. Felicity stumbles around to get dressed and runs out the door.

            When Dig finally opens his door, Felicity throws her arms around him, her face smashed against his large chest.

            “Congratulations,” she mumbles into his torso. He chuckles and the sound vibrates against her cheek. He pulls her back and smiles.

            “Thank you.”

            He grabs her arm and pulls her inside.

            “You didn’t tell me,” she protests and then gasps, “John Diggle, did you tell Oliver and _not me_?” He puts his hands up.

            “Relax, I told you first.”

            She huffs.

            “Through a _text_!”

            Diggle’s smile gets wider.

            “It was a pretty awesome text though,” he shoots back. Felicity fights the urge to hug him again.

            “It was a brilliant text. Is she here?” Felicity asks while looking around the apartment.

            “No, she’s out to dinner with a friend,” he answers.

            “Um, is that code for kicking ass and spying?”

            “It’s code for a pregnant lady’s cravings and she’s out with a friend because I can only take so much of Big Belly Burgers.”

            Felicity gasps in fake horror.

            “Blasphemy! I’m so happy for you, John. I miss you so much,” she says softly. Diggle pulls her in for another hug.

            “I miss you too. How are you doing?”

            Felicity steps back to wipe away her tears.

            “These are happy tears, Dig. Nothing else. I’m good. Things are really happening over at Wayne Enterprise.”

            Diggle sighs.

            “Does this mean you’re moving to Gotham?” he asks. The look in his eyes almost brings her to tears again.

            “No, but it means a lot of travelling,” she whispers. Diggle sticks his hands in his pockets.

            “I know that I said you should take a break but I didn’t realize what it would mean. Is this what you really need?”

            Felicity sinks into his couch and he sits down next to her to put his arm around her shoulders. She leans in against him.

            “I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m getting myself into. I don’t know why I got so burned out.”

            “Of course you do. You love him.” He lets the sentence just sit there as Felicity’s mind whirs. She breathes in shakily and lifts her head from Diggle. So many people had implied the same thing, Moira Queen for one, but to hear it from Diggle, it shakes her resolve.

            “What are you talking about?”

            He looks at her with such gentleness.

            “When you love someone, you would do anything for them. Even if he’s not in a place to love you back. But at some point, something’s got to give. I think you’re at that point, Felicity.”

            Felicity opens her mouth to speak but a sharp ring goes off. Diggle rummages through his pocket and takes out his cell phone. Right away, she sees Oliver’s caller ID.

            “Hey. Yeah. Be right there.”

            Felicity stands up with him as he hangs up.

            “Everything okay?” she asks.

            “Yeah it’s just another drug deal going down. Fallon, I think. Hey, Felic-”

            Felicity smiles and stands on her tippy toes to kiss her friend’s cheek before he can say another word.

            “Congratulations again, Dig.”

            She turns to leave.

 

 

            The lair is quiet when she gets there. She purposefully waits an hour or so until she knows for sure that both of them are out on the field. Felicity runs her hand across her computers with fondness. She missed her babies. After a moment, she takes her seat in front of the computers.

            Both Oliver and Diggle have their trackers on and they’re waiting by the docks. She sees heat signals of five people not including Oliver and John. In the corner of her eye, she sees the sound waves moving for the comm links. There’s a pair of ear buds lying on the desk. Felicity grabs them and slips them in her ears.

            “I only see five, Dig,” Oliver whispers. At his voice, Felicity leans forward to see her screens better.

            “Yeah, me too.”

            “Okay, on my signal, we go.”

            “Copy that,” Diggle replies.

            Felicity frowns as she sees some movement on the edge of her screen. She zooms out and internally groans at the sight. There are packs of heat signals surrounding John and Oliver about 500 yards from them. They’re moving in fast. She scrambles to turn off the mute function on her comm link.

            “Oliver, it’s an ambush. You’re surrounded,” she hisses.

            There’s a sharp intake of a breath on the other side.

            “Feli-”

            “They’re coming up fast! Get out of there!” she shouts.

            “Talk to me,” he commands. She hears grunts and groans and she realizes that the five men had known that they were there. It only takes a minute or so before he is free to talk.

            “Head east. There are only a few in that direction. Dig, there are at least 10 men by you. You got to make your way over to Oliver,” she directs them.

            “Got it.”

            “Damn it, they’re all on bikes,” Oliver spits out.

            “And by bikes, you mean bicycles?” she asks hopefully. A warning growl tells her no. “Right. Okay. Bad men on motorcycles. Um, um –”

            “Felicity! We can’t outrun them for much longer,” he shouts. She hears the trick arrows going off in the background. Felicity scans the screen for any exit and she gulps.

            “There’s a train ahead of you. It’ll be there in exactly 12.8 seconds. Can you and Dig –”

            “Got it,” he interrupts. All she hears are muffled sounds of motors, panting, shouts, and soon the rush of a train. She presses her hands against her face and wills them back home. Another shout rings out of her comms and she clenches her fists.

            “Come on,” she whispers.

            “We’re okay. We’re on the train. We’ll be there soon.”

            The tension runs out of her body and she leans back into her chair with relief.

            “Felicity?”

            She puts her fingers up to her ear bud.

            “I’ll be waiting,” she replies and then takes the ear buds out.

 

 

            “They ambushed us. It was supposed to be a small time drug deal,” Oliver growls as he walks into the lair. His hand is clenched onto his bow and his jaw is tight. She can see the sweat dripping from his hair. John grimaces but his eyes light up when he sees her.

            “Were they Fallon’s men?” she asks, handing both John and Oliver a towel so that they can wipe their sweat off.  Oliver murmurs his thanks and drapes it across the back of his neck. The tension is still running through his body and she knows it won’t run its course until after he takes his suit off.  In this light, the suit _is_ quite green and…tight in all the right places.

            “Yeah, Fallon’s definitely involved,” Diggle answers, “Thanks for the warning, Felicity. It could’ve been a lot worse.”

            “Sure thing,” she replies. Oliver turns to place his bow in the glass case.

            “We need to get back on Fallon. Figure out what he’s up to. We’ve been too distracted with Slade,” he says in a low voice. Diggle shakes his head warily.

            “It’s not going to be easy. Fallon always slips away.” Diggle tosses his towel over the back of a chair.

            Felicity rolls her eyes.

            “When is it ever easy when it comes to us?”

            The words are out before she can stop them and by the way Oliver and John both stiffen up, they were the wrong words to say.  She tries to avoid both of their gazes and thinks of an excuse to get out of there.

            “So there is an us?” Oliver asks, his voice steady but tight. Felicity crosses her arms and feels a sudden chill. Diggle steps closer to her as if he’s ready to protect her from whatever’s about to come her way.

            “Uh-”

            “Why are you here, Felicity?” he says, stepping towards her.

            “I didn’t realize I wasn’t welcome here,” she says willing her voice not to shake.  Dig glares at Oliver and without taking his eyes off him, he speaks.

            “You’re _always_ welcome here, Felicity.”

            Oliver backs down and sighs.

            “You told me that I don’t listen. I’m listening. What do you want? Are you in or are you out?”

            Felicity moves Diggle out of her way.

            “Am I in or am I out? Are you serious, Oliver? _You_ came to _me_ and told me to come back whenever. That you needed me _whole_ whatever the hell that means. To take my time. Did you mean any of that?” she asks. She’s standing very close to him now and resists the urge to poke her finger into his shoulder as she makes each point.

            “Dig told me about Gotham. That you’ll be gone,” he answers without losing a beat. She whirls around to look at Dig. If she weren’t so fired up, she’d laugh at the guilty look on his face.

            “I’ll just give you two a minute,” he says and he leaves but not without a stern look at Oliver.

            “Is it true? You’re leaving?” Oliver says quietly, his eyes never leaving her. She doesn’t have to answer because she knows he can read it all over her. He can always read her.

            “Is this what you want?” he asks. This time his voice isn’t as threatening. It’s a genuine question. So she knows it’s only right to give an honest answer – as honest as she can get anyway.

            “This is not what I want. If I had it my way, I’d be right by your side now until whenever you decide to hang up your bow. But there are some things that I need to deal with and I can’t be at your side for this,” she says. He holds onto the side of her arm gently.

            “What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?” That protective growl makes her weak but she just puts her hand on top of his.

            “No, Oliver. I’m not in any trouble,” she whispers. Her voice hitches a little.

            “Then what is it?” he asks, the frustration barely veiled.

            “It’s you,” Felicity smiles not bothering to wipe her eyes, “I’d go to the ends of the earth for you. But the problem is, I love you.”

            Felicity lets go of his hand so that he can move his hand from her arm if he wants to. But he doesn’t and the way he looks at her makes her wonder…She lets out a small laugh.

            “And I think you knew it before I did,” she says. His hold on her arm gets tighter.

            “And the fact that you didn’t say anything tells me all I need to know.”

            He finally lets go of her.  She puts her arms around him slowly and breathes in the scent of him. Her voice gets muffled in his suit.

            “I think I have to get over you, Oliver Queen. And I can’t do that here.”

            She pulls away and he searches her face for what, she doesn’t know.

            “When it’s done, I’ll be your Girl Wednesday again,” she says.

            He frowns as he says softly, “It’s Girl Friday.”

            Felicity hesitantly puts her hand on his shoulder and rests on it so that she can reach up and kiss his cheek.

            “Goodbye, Oliver,” she whispers.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments! I'm having a blast writing my first fanfiction and finding my way around AO3. I really love Felicity as a character and just want to see her grow, with or without Oliver (preferably with :] ). Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Iron Heights Penitentiary stands so proud and tall that Felicity would never have guessed that so many criminals escaped from this place. The day is chilly for mid May and she wraps her navy blue jacket around her a little closer. A group of gruff men pass by her and she turns around pretending to be very interested in the bush next to her. She’s hacked into this place but it’s one thing to be physically here. The sound of heels hitting the concrete makes her turn around and there’s Laurel, all confident, as if this is just a part of her day’s work. Now that she thinks about it, it probably is.

            “Hi,” Felicity says, perhaps with a little too much pep. She still doesn’t know what to make of their newfound….whatever it is. Laurel smiles.

            “You ready?” she asks as they walk up to the entrance together.

            “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

            They walk in and well, it looks exactly like what Felicity imagines a maximum security prison to be. They sign papers after papers and there’s a long wait. The guards and staff workers bark orders at the prisoners and even to the visitors. Felicity tries not to jump every time someone yells out something.

            “You’ve handled Slade, Smoak. Get ahold of yourself,” she mumbles to herself. Laurel glances at her.

            “It’s a lot to take in. I was nervous too,” the woman admits. Felicity wants to retort and deny being nervous, but she recognizes that this is Laurel’s way of reassuring her and opening up to her.  Plus, she _is_ pretty anxious.

            “Yeah,” Felicity replies.

            They sit there for about forty minutes and Felicity’s about ready to call it a day when two guards come into the room. One guard is has a jovial aura about him and Felicity swears it’s not just because of the white curls on his head and the large, plushy belly. He’s talking to his companion who is younger and he’s hanging onto every word.

            “I’m telling ya, ya gots to give her some room. Let her go out with her girlfriends, take the kiddos off her hands. And if you do it without grumblin’, ya might just hit the jack – Miss Laurel!”

            The guard comes rushing towards them and he grabs Laurel’s hand shaking it quite vigorously. She smiles at him.

            “Tony! How are you? How’s Stan?” she asks.

            “Good. Good. Thanks to ya. He’s gotten himself outta trouble and would you believe it? He’s going to college in the fall! All thanks to ya, Miss Laurel,” the guard is beaming at her and he turns his beam towards Felicity. She feels quite awkward and she clears her throat.

            “I’m glad to hear it. This is my…associate, Felicity Smoak. We’re here to see Phil Hark, but it seems like there’s been a hold up,” Laurel explains and Felicity can barely hear the hint in her voice. Subtlety suits this woman, she decides.

            “What? I’ll get it all sorted out. Come on. Come on,” he says. He nods to the other guard, and he turns back into the corridor. Tony the guard leads them through halls and Felicity catches a glimpse of the inmates. She feels a chill down her spine but it’s not the inmates that caused it. She gets a sense that someone’s watching them.  She notices that she’s fallen behind and hurries to catch up with them.

            Soon they’re taken into a large open room with a few tables and chairs. The two women take a seat beside one another and Tony leaves, telling them to wait just a moment. Soon two other guards come into the room, escorting Phil Hark. They seat him in front of them and then take their place right behind him. The door slides shut and Felicity instinctively turns when she hears beeping from a panel beside the door.

            “So? Who the hell are you?” Phil Hark asks.

            His lean, wiry build doesn’t take up much space, but his glare more than makes up for it. She was expecting scars, a bald head, and lots of muscle, but she supposes that’s stereotyping. There’s not much to him but stringy hair and matted down mustache.

            “My name is Laurel Lance and I’m from the District Attorney’s office,” she flashes a badge at him and suddenly, Felicity feels a surge of gratitude towards Laurel. “This is my associate, Felicity Smoak. We have some questions for you about Stefan Fallon.”

            Hark stiffens and he glances at his guards.

            “I’ve got nothing to say.”

            “That’s not going to work for us, Hark. We know Fallon’s been smuggling drugs –” Laurel retorts.

            Hark snorts and she falters.

            “Drugs? Lady, you don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            Felicity leans in.

            “So clue us in, Hark. What about Smith? Does that name sound familiar to you?” she asks in her toughest voice as possible. Good Lord, it was easier when she had a tablet to threaten them with.

            His face freezes and the blood drains out of it. _Bingo._

            “No. I’m done. Hey –” he looks over his shoulder to the guards, “get me out of here.” 

            Laurel slaps both of her hands down on the table and Felicity nearly yelps.

            “Talk. Your sister’s in juvie and she’s on the path to who knows where. You talk, we can get her straightened out. I know you care about her. You’ve taken care of her ever since –”

            “Shut up!” Hark yells. He puts his hands to his head and tugs on his hair. Felicity’s stomach turns when she sees the utter panic and the frantic way his eyes are moving back and forth. She hates this. She absolutely hates this. But she wonders what could terrify a man this much or _who._

            “Hey, it’s okay. You –” Felicity starts before Hark interrupts her.

            “She gets out of juvie. Promise me that.”

            Laurel nods.

            “I promise.”

            Hark stays silent for a long time before he leans it to whisper.

            “They’re microprocessors. Fallon’s supplying Smith with –”

            There’s a quick whistling sound and before Felicity can shout in warning, he’s hit in the neck with a dart. The women stare at him as his eyes roll back and as he starts foaming at the mouth. His head drops forward and Laurel scrambles to find a pulse.

            “Get a medic! I think he’s still –” she cries out to the guard. She stops when she looks up at the guards. Laurel lets go of the man and with her eyes on the guards, she tugs at Felicity, who’s still shaking the man in a panic.

            “Felicity! Get down!”

            Felicity feels Laurel barrel her down to the floor and she wheezes for air. She hears the whistling sound a few more times and stays down. Then she feels Laurel being lifted off of her. Then two large hands grasp her neck and she chokes, while she desperately tries to pry the hands off her.

            She hears a crack as Laurel punches one of the guards twice. With resolve, Felicity lifts her right foot and jabs her high heel into his side hard. He yells and lets go of her. Immediately, she gets on her fours and gasps for air.

            “You little bi-” he snarls and she turns to face him. But with a large clang, he groans and then falls forward at her feet. Felicity looks up to see Laurel with a chair in her hands, panting hard.

            “Wow, you just – ” Felicity sputters. But then she sees the other guard standing up with a baton in his hand, ready to strike Laurel from behind. With a loud roar, she charges at him headfirst. This is probably the stupidest idea she’s had in awhile and she’s going to have the worst whiplash, but there’s a satisfaction in making fully grown man groan with pain especially when he’s deserved it. She gets up shakily and brushes her hands off. She turns to see Laurel, with her mouth open.

            “Did you just do that in heels?” she asks.

            Felicity grabs her arm and pulls her towards the door. She quickly slides the panel open and punches in a few buttons.

            “C’mon, c’mon,” she whispers. She can hear both of them breathing heavily and as much as she’s enjoying getting to know Laurel, she’d rather not die in a prison with her.  The panel beeps and it does not bode well. Then a string of letters runs across the screen, which makes her frown. She peers at it closely.

            _Hello there, Felicity Smoak._

            Four words. Just four words: hello, there, Felicity, and Smoak. But they terrify her and shake her to the very core.  She looks around the room for anything, any clue, but there’s nothing but Laurel and the two guards, who are stirring again.

            “Felicity! What’s going on?” Laurel hisses.  When a guard is ready to stand up, she goes and kicks him in the face.

            Felicity furiously hacks into the panel, ignoring the words until those words fade out and another sentence replace them.

            _See you again soon._

            The panel beeps open and she slides it shut, as the door swings open. Laurel grabs Felicity and they run together through the corridor. The guard, who choked Felicity, sprints at them and he has a dart ready to go in his hand. Then she hears a grunt and a cry of pain. Felicity turns back to see a green arrow embedded into his arm.

            With a rush of relief, she runs without looking back, knowing that the guards will be taken care of.

            Other guards and staff members greet them with shock and worry and Laurel tries to explain to the best of their ability. After recounting their experience, the guards charge in through the corridor and Laurel and Felicity leave the premises.  The adrenaline is rushing through her veins, and her heart is pounding right out of her chest.

            They turn a corner and they’re seized by someone and pushed against the wall. Felicity opens her mouth to let out a scream but a rough hand covers it. She hears their attacker grunt and she opens her eyes. While Felicity’s first instinct was to scream, Laurel’s was to knee the guy in the gut. Laurel looks ashamed and gasps.

            “Ollie! I’m so sorry!”

            Oliver groans and he pulls his hand away from Felicity. He shakes the pain off and glares at them. Felicity notices that he’s wearing civilian clothes and wonders how he changes out of his suit so quickly. Even after all this time, she’s never been able to figure that out.

            “What. The. Hell. Was. That,” he demands.

            “Sorry, but that’s just what I do when I get attacked,” Laurel says, her eyes still wide.  He puts a finger up and shakes his head.

            “What the hell were you two doing in there?” he snarls. Laurel shrinks against the wall and Felicity steps in between them.

            “Hey, don’t yell at her! This was my idea,” she snaps. He rounds on her so quick that Felicity barely has time to take a step back, which makes her unsteady on her feet.  He grabs her arm so that she can regain her balance. His grip tightens slightly.

            “ _You_ are supposed to be in Gotham,” he says, his voice turning a little dangerous. “What are you doing looking into Fallon’s man?”

            Felicity takes a deep breath.

            “Well, er, technically, I’m looking into Fallon’s man, because I need to find out more about Fallon because Fallon is a man. Wait, I mean, Fallon’s a man of a guy I’m looking into.”

            Both Felicity and Oliver turn at the sound of a snort from Laurel. The snort quickly turns into giggles that she’s struggling to keep in but clearly can’t. She puts her hand up while her face turns red.

            “I’m sorry. I – Fallon’s a man,” Laurel snorts again. A peal of laughter starts and tears start streaming down her face. Felicity and Oliver stare at her incredulously. Oliver breaks out of it and glares.

            “This isn’t funny, Laurel! You both could have been killed!”

            At this, Laurel laughs even harder and slowly sinks down to catch her breath.

            “I hit a guy with a chair, Oliver. She – your girl just charged at a man like – like a bull. In heels!”

            Felicity grins at the memory.

            “In Iron Heights, no less,” she quips. Laurel breaks down again and seeing that Oliver is completely at a loss, she reaches down and pulls Laurel up.

            “Come on, you crazy woman. Let’s get out of here,” Felicity says.

 

 

            “Since when did you get a car?” Felicity asks in amazement when Oliver pulls around in front of the sidewalk with a black 2014 Toyota Camry. Both girls make a move towards the passenger seat and when they realize it, they awkwardly try to give each other the seat, until finally Laurel rolls her eyes and opens the door to the back seat. Felicity slides into the seat next to Oliver and is careful not to look at him.

            “Wow, Ollie. Was the Prius not available?” Laurel asks with a grin.

            “Shut up. I worked hard –” he starts, still in a huff from all of the laughter.

            “No, no. I like it. This is sensible. Practical. Just not very you,” she says looking around the interior of the car.

            “Well, I’m not exactly a billionaire anymore,” he says as he starts the car. After a moment’s silence, he speaks again, “What happened in there?”

            The ladies stay silent and Felicity just looks straight ahead.

            “Really. You’ve got nothing to say,” he says as he pulls back onto the road. He bites his lip and stares out through the windshield. After a pause -

            “Since when are you guys even friends?” he blurts out, the confusion written all over his face. Felicity sees Laurel’s eyes crinkle through the rearview mirror.

            “Would you prefer it if I became best buds with Helena Bertinelli?” Felicity asks coolly.

            “She’s in prison. I’m sure I can set up a meeting,” Laurel suggests brightly.

            “You…are just boatloads of fun today, Laurel,” Oliver growls. However, the tension in him leaves slightly and the three of them relax during the drive to Laurel’s apartment. When they arrive, Laurel pulls her purse towards her and opens the door. Before she gets out, she looks at the two of them.

            “Thanks, Oliver. Let’s do this again sometime, Felicity,” she smiles.

            “You are _not_ –” The door slams shut before Oliver can finish his sentence. Felicity can feel his glare on her as he puts his hand on the back of her headrest so that he can observe behind him before he backs out into the street once more.

            The tension is back again and Felicity just clasps her hands together and looks out the window. The streets are busy with people getting back from their lunch dates to their workplaces. Buildings pass by and she tilts her head against the window, closing her eyes as she feels the sunrays shine through. She’s going to miss Starling City.

            Oliver finally stops the car in front of her brownstone apartment and pulls the keys out of ignition. They sit there, waiting for the other to speak.

            “What are you up to?” he asks quietly.

            She doesn’t say anything.

            “Felicity! You could’ve died in there. That was a stupid thing to do! Who are you looking into?” he demands, the frustration rising in his voice.

            Felicity finally turns to look at him.

            “But I didn’t die. I’m fine.”

            “You guys were fine up to a certain point. If I hadn’t – I won’t always be there, Felicity, to get you out of trouble,” he says.

            “I know,” she replies, “You can’t always protect me.”

            Her words float in the air and the weight they have on him is clear by his pained face.  He takes in a deep breath.

            “Is it Wayne Enterprises? Are they making you do this? Is Wayne involved in this?” he asks.  Felicity furrows her eyebrows.

            “You know Bruce Wayne?” she asks.

            “Yes, I know him. I used to see him at charity events. I swear to God – if he’s-”

            “No, Oliver. I’ve never even met the guy. This has nothing to do with him,” she says quickly.  Oliver clenches the steering wheel with both hands. His jaw tightens.

            “Then what the hell are you up to, Felicity?”

            Felicity sighs and opens the door.

            “My life,” she says softly and while the familiarity of the phrase dawns on Oliver, she gets out and closes the car door. She can still feel his eyes on her as she opens the door to her apartment. It’s only after she’s been in her apartment for five minutes that Oliver drives away.

 

 

            Felicity transitions into her life in Gotham quite smoothly. She still has her name on the lease, because she considers Starling City her home. Besides, she’d like to still keep tabs on Team Arrow. Lucius generously put her up in a luxury suite in a ritzy hotel five blocks away from Wayne Tower. It’s not cozy like her old dwelling but she’ll take it. It’s not everyday she gets to live the good life.

            It took a few days to pack everything she needed into suitcases and bags. Diggle even came to help with an offering of a pack of beer. The first question out of his mouth was, “Did you really break into Iron Heights with _Laurel Lance_?” With a quick punch to the arm, they got busy and soon, she was ready to get on the train to Gotham. When her train finally came, Diggle wrapped his arms around her.

            “I’m going to miss you, Felicity Smoak.”

            She was a blubbering mess but she made it safely into Gotham and into her sparkling suite.

            Some people at Wayne Tower had gotten used to the sight of a girl who wore brightly colored dresses to work a few times a month. However, as she started going into work everyday, she felt the stares, but she kept her chin up. No way was she going to go back to dressing like a regular old IT girl. But with her smiles and her genuine charm, they eventually greeted her with a nod or even a grin.

            On her first day back in Gotham, she reported to Barbara Gordon about what she found out about Fallon. She gave her a list of all the men working for him and the little information Hark gave her.

            “Microprocessors, huh. Good work, Smoak,” she said before swinging her chair towards her computer. When she sensed unease, she looked back up at Felicity.

            “Is there anything else?” Gordon asked with concern.

            Felicity shook her head and decided not to tell her about what she saw on that panel in Iron Heights. Something about it felt all too personal and she didn’t know Gordon well enough to know how she would respond.

            Not to say that she doesn’t like Barbara Gordon. She’s been learning loads from her and when she finds out that Gordon has another day job as a librarian, she can’t help but be impressed.  She’s strong and fierce, but Felicity suspects that her ferocity used to be even more severe and that wisdom and experience smoothed out the rough edges. She never asks about the wheelchair, because she knows it’s really no one’s business.

            Gordon seems to be enjoying working with Felicity and treats Felicity as her apprentice. When Felicity finds a more efficient way to hack, she can’t hide her delight. Felicity appreciates it and is grateful for the opportunity to add to her repertoire of computer skills. However, she wonders when she’s going to dig into the good stuff.

            Felicity leans back in her chair and yawns. After staring at the computer all day, her eyeballs feel like they’re going to fall out at any moment. She takes off her glasses to rub her eyes only to hear Gordon put something down on her desk. Felicity puts her glasses back on again to see a USB drive.

            “I think you’re ready to see this,” Gordon says with a smile. She wheels back around to her desk.

            Felicity gingerly plugs the USB into the computer and cracks her knuckles.

            “Alright, here we go.”

 

 

            Felicity doesn’t take her eyes off the screen for more than a second or two and she doesn’t realize the hours that have gone by. Her throat is dry and she keeps holding her breath every time she sees a video. Some of the videos and files have the A.R.G.U.S. watermark on it, which doesn’t help matters.

            Many of the videos came from CCTVs on the streets but even with the grainy images, she can still see the man –

            “Flying. He’s…flying,” she croaks. “He’s flying around in blue tights and red underwear.”

            “Don’t forget the cape,” Gordon says from behind. Felicity jumps at the sound of her voice.

            “How - how is he doing this? Crazy special effects? Where are the wires?” she asks but then whirls back to the screen when she hears screams from the video. The criminal had just hurled a semi trailer into a crowd of people but the man _flies_ to them and he catches the semi. Then he tosses the semi off to the side as if it weighs nothing.

            “That’s not – even with the Mirakuru,” she whispers.

            “It’s not Mirakuru. It’s all him. Did you look through the A.R.G.U.S. files?” Gordon asks.

            “Some. I sort of got distracted by the videos,” she admits. But she scrambles to pull them up and starts reading. The more she reads, the more her jaw drops. Felicity stands up, her hands shaking.

            “Do you expect me to believe this?” she asks, her voice hoarse. “That he’s from another _planet_? Krypton? He’s an _alien_?”

            Gordon looks pensive and a little amused.

            “Yes. We call him Superman, but he also goes by another name.”

            “Supe – you’re crazy. You’re all crazy. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here,” Felicity says. She pulls the USB out and turns to leave.

            “Where are you going, Smoak?” Gordon calls out. Felicity ignores her but just then Lucius comes into the room. She barely acknowledges him and storms out with the USB drive clutched in her hand. Before the door slides shut, she hears him say a few words.

            “I told you we should have gone with Miss Diana first.”

            “The goddess? Are you kidding me? She would have keeled over,” Gordon replies.

            Sweet Lord. She needs a drink.

 

 

            Luckily, the ritzy hotel has a ritzy bar. The bar isn’t very crowded so she takes a seat slightly towards the left. Her head is pounding from all of the hours she spent staring at the screen and also from the fact that Gordon, Lucius and A.R. freakin’ G.U.S. are under the impression that aliens exist. The bartender sees her and comes over to her.

            “What can I get you?” he asks politely. She raises her head.

            “Um, a martini please,” she rasps out. He nods and smiles.

            “Coming right up. Long day?” he asks over his shoulder as he gets her drink ready. She sighs and rubs her temples.

            “You could say that,” she replies.

            He hands her the drink and she downs it in front of him. He lets out a low whistle.

            “That bad, huh? Work or boy troubles?” he asks with a grin.

            Felicity lets out a humorless laugh.

            “It’s always been both. Can I get another one?” she holds up her glass. He grabs it.

            “Alright, only if you promise to take it slow. I’ve got enough drunk guys on my hand as it is,” he grimaces, jerking his head towards two men who are sitting towards the right.

            “Right. Promise.”

            It takes a few minutes before she’s presented with another glass. She starts to gulp it down but the bartender clears his throat. Felicity grudgingly puts down her drink. She’s already starting to feel a little lightheaded.

            “Have you ever questioned your existence? Or realized that your life will never be the same?”

            She takes large sips from her glass.

            He smiles and shrugs.

            “When I quit law school?”

            Felicity squints her eyes.

            “You went to law school?” she asks.

            “What – a bartender can’t have gone to law school?”

            She sits right up with a guilty look on her face.

            “No, no, no. That’s not – I mean, I should have realized. No one exactly thought I’d be an IT girl while I was growing up,” she says as a peace offering.

            The bartender smiles and it reaches his kind eyes.

            “You’re okay, lady. You’re okay,” he says and she feels oddly comforted. He moves onto his other customers.

            Her phone vibrates.

            “Ugh, not right now,” she whispers, pinching the bridge of her nose. She calls the bartender for another drink.

            “Alright,” he answers. When he turns, she asks, “ ‘S your name?”

            “Nick,” he says placing her drink in front of her.

            “Good, strong name,” she says, “I’m Felicity.”

            “Nice to meet you, Felicity.”

            The phone vibrates again and she groans. She looks on the screen and sees that it’s a text message from a restricted number. Frowning, Felicity opens the message.

            _Hello, Felicity Smoak._

            She lets go of the phone and it clatters on the surface of the bar. Nick, the bartender, frowns at her in concern.

            “You okay?”

            She grabs the phone quickly and texts back: Who are you?

            _The name’s Smith. Glad to make your acquaintance._

            Felicity barely notices that she’s taking short breaths.  She types: What do you want?

            _I just want to get to know you._ _I hope you’re enjoying your stay in Gotham._

            She feels her body start to shake, as she looks every which way, not sure what she’s trying to find. Felicity nearly jumps out of her seat when Nick reaches across the bar and lightly touches her elbow.

            “Whoa. Hey, you okay?”

            She quickly nods and pays her tab.

            “Sorry, I gotta go.”

            Felicity stumbles out of her seat and make her way into an elevator. When she gets into her suite, she locks her door and then closes all of the curtains for every window. She sinks onto the cold ground and shivers.

            “Felicity, get a grip,” she whispers as she pulls the phone out again. His last text message flashes on the screen. She desperately wants to call Oliver and Diggle and tell them what’s happening. They’d make their way to Gotham in a flash, furious that someone had scared her. At this thought, her body stills and she lifts her head. Yes, they would be furious. Absolutely furious.

            So why isn’t she? The anger rises within her as she realizes the gall on this man. She’s Felicity Smoak, class of 2009 at MIT, the Arrow’s Girl Friday. Hell, she ran over Isabel Rochev with a van.

            Felicity swipes on her phone so that she can compose a new message: Fuck off. Thanks.

            She waits for a reply but it never comes. Felicity drags herself into the tub and takes an abnormally long, hot shower. She figures she deserves one today.

 

 

            Following a man looks a lot easier in the movies, Felicity decides while she’s pretending to stand in line to buy a hot dog from a street vendor. She can still spy Clark Kent out of the corner of her eye. He’s chatting on the phone as he walks at a steady pace through the streets of Metropolis.

            When he turns a corner, she slips out of line and follows him. Felicity isn’t exactly sure why she’s stalking the man, but she doesn’t know how to just show up and tell him about ORACLE. She’s studied everything about him. Raised in Smallville as Clark Kent. Reporter at the Daily Planet by day, and Superman by night. Well, actually not always at night, maybe that’s just an Oliver thing.

            But seriously? Blue tights, red underwear and cape? That’s his costume of choice? But Superman sure has cute dimples, she notes. But now, he’s dressed in a collared shirt and suit pants and he has his suit jacket draped over the crook of his arm, which is still bent so that he can talk on his phone. He holds a briefcase in his other hand.

            He stops for a second. Felicity crouches by the wall to hide. A few people walk by looking at her strangely. She clears her throat and straightens up and peers into the window display with feinted interest.  She still catches the sun gleaming off the lenses of his glasses, which brings her to another point. Do people really not recognize him with the glasses?

            Kent starts walking again and she can hear him faintly, “Yeah, no sorry about that. Lost a signal for a second.”

            She supposes it’s his demeanor that hides everything. He has a slight slouch in his shoulders that disappear when he dons his other suit. That sheepish smile is vastly different to the smoldering gaze that he graces the women that he plucks out of the air with. There’s absolutely nothing _alien_ about Clark Kent.

            After going through every file on that USB drive that night she stormed out, she came back to Wayne Tower. She slammed it down on Gordon’s desk and sighed.

            “Alright, I believe it. I believe in aliens from outer space. Now what?”

            Gordon spread her hands out.

            “Go to Metropolis. Chat with him. Tell him about us and our mission,” she explained.

            “So you just want me to talk to him?” she asked.

            “Make him trust you. Make him want to join the league.”

            “Oh so we’re still sticking with the league?” joked Felicity. Lucius coughed in the background.

            “I just wanted _one_ name that I liked,” he grumbled.

            “Sir. The Justice League is as bad as ORACLE. They’re both corny,” Felicity informed. Gordon smiled.

            “Just be yourself, Smoak,” she offered. Felicity took in a deep breath.

            “Right. Easy peasy. What about Batman? Is he joining this thing? Don’t you already have a relationship with him?” she asked.

            The looks exchanged by her two mentors don’t go unnoticed.

            “He doesn’t play well with others,” Gordon admitted.

            “He has somewhat of a prickly attitude. Doesn’t like what we’re doing,” Lucius shrugged.

            “Who _is_ he? Is _he_ at least human? How come I didn’t get a file on him yet?” Felicity asked with her eyes narrowed.

            Lucius shook his head.

            “One step at a time, Felicity. Let’s just take it one step at a time.”

            So she’s here in beautiful, sunny Metropolis tracking down Kal-El…who has now disappeared while she’s been lost in her thoughts.

            “Crap,” she whispers. Felicity steps away from the windows and out onto the sidewalks again, walking briskly. She keeps throwing glances left and right, hoping to catch sight of him.  When she sees him again, she sighs a breath of relief and goes back to crouching mode.

            He turns his head quickly to the side as if he hears something. Felicity once again plasters herself against a wall. When she peers out again, he’s gone. Felicity shuts her eyes and turns the other way only to smack dab into a broad, rock hard mass.

            “Oof,” she grunts.

            Felicity steps away and then blinks as she slowly looks up at a politely smiling Clark Kent. He slides his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. The sun beams down at him and it gives him an unworldly glow.

            “Pardon me, ma’am, but are you following me?”

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the awesome comments again! This chapter actually drove me a little crazy and I finally just had to post it. A fair warning though on how I wrote Clark Kent/Superman. I wrote him from what I know from some of the comics I have read. I also know that Smallville was on the same network as Arrow, but I have never seen that show. So I don't know how Clark will translate for those who've watched Smallville. Also, there is one dark (ish) scene. Okay, I think that's it. Hope you enjoy!

            “Pardon me, ma’am, but are you following me?”

            Felicity gulps. Standing so close to him, she sees the traces of Superman in him. He appears to be expanding before her very eyes, even though she knows he’s just standing in front of her as Clark Kent. She backs away slightly.

            “I – I would make a terrible spy,” she mutters. At this, Kent narrows his eyes and frowns.

            “You’re a spy?” he asks, his voice getting slightly deeper. Felicity’s eyes widen at her mistake.

            “No! No, I’m not a spy. I’m just saying I would make a terrible one considering well, that you found me,” she explains trying to suppress her panic.

            “So you _are_ following me,” he says. He leans forward, “Why?”

            “My name is Felicity Smoak and I just want to talk,” she says breathlessly. _Oh God. Oh God. Oh God._

            He frowns again.

            “Listen, if you’re a journalist, you’ll have to find the leads yourself. I’m not selling out Lois’ source –” Kent begins. This time Felicity frowns.

            “What? No! I’m not here about – I’m not a reporter! I don’t care about sources.”

            His eyes scan her down and he raises one eyebrow.

            “You’re dressed like a reporter,” he remarks. Felicity looks down at herself. She’s wearing a grey one-piece dress with a fitted purple jacket and purple heels. A little miffed, not sure whether to be insulted or not, Felicity crosses her arms.

            “Well, I’m not.”

            “Well, Miss Smoak. You’re not a spy and you’re not a reporter. So what are you?” he asks.

            “I’m an IT girl,” she blurts out.

            Kent stares at her. “An IT girl?”

            “Well, that’s not all I am, but for the most part – yes.” Felicity has absolutely no idea where she’s going with this and she just wants to be at home in, in bed, watching Netflix.

            “So what do you want?”

            Felicity cringes and shuts her eyes. She decides it’s better to get it over with, like ripping off a Band-Aid.

            “Do you want to join the Justice League? It’s like a superhero club. You’d be a great fit, er, Superman,” she says in one breath with a hopeful smile.

            Felicity can almost see the clouds gather over them as Kent gets rid of his slouch and his eyes gain a dark, suspicious glint. He steps forward with gritted teeth and Felicity’s stomach drops. It’s one thing to see him on film. It’s another to experience him first hand.

            “You’re from A.R.G.U.S.,” he states accusingly, his voice definitely an octave lower than before.

            “No, not from A.R.G.U.S. Definitely not from A.R.G.U.S. We found out about…your alter-ego from them, but we, well actually my bosses, eventually figured out your civilian identity.”

            “Very few people know who I am,” he says, “Who are your bosses? Where are you from?”

            Felicity sighs. This is such a mess. She looks up at him.

            “Listen, I know this is threatening to you, me coming up and calling you out on your double life. But I’m not here to hurt you. I’m from Project ORACLE, which is under Wayne Enterprises, based in Gotham City. We’ve been tracking people like you – superheroes, we’ve been calling them. There have been a lot of bad guys hurting innocent people. We just want to stop them, but we need your help.”

            She knows that it’s not much of a sales pitch but she doesn’t know how else to put it. The man examines her with a scrutinizing gaze and Felicity wonders if he’s doing that x-ray vision thing. Her spine straightens up and she stares at him right back.

            “No,” he says curtly. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

            He turns around to leave and her heart sinks. She calls out.

            “Why not?”

            He looks over his shoulder.

            “Why should I trust you?” he says. “Good day, Miss Smoak.”

            And he walks away.

 

 

            It’s a good thing that Felicity doesn’t give up that easily. But she realizes that recruiting people is really difficult to do. Oliver did it the easy way – all he had to do was get shot and climb into her car. And snap, she was part of Team Arrow.  But not really, she trusted him long before that even after the series of ridiculous lies he fed her.

            So what was it about Oliver Queen? Felicity chews thoughtfully on the bagel she bought a few minutes before as she sits on the edge of the fountain right across from the Daily Planet building. She peers up at the giant globe resting atop of the tower and sighs.

            After Clark Kent left, Felicity was ready to throw in the towel and was about to grab a taxi for the train station. However, as she was waiting on the sidewalk, she thought back to that little boy and his mother. That little boy had seen Superman and was inspired enough to ask his father to carve him a toy. Something about that made her bring her arm down and head straight to the Daily Planet. Felicity waited for hours until she heard the grumble in her stomach and she realized it was nearly 7 o’clock.  So she grabbed a bagel and some cream cheese and sat, waiting.

            Eventually, people start trickling out of the building and she straightens up, peering over the crowd. Finally, she sees him with another young man. It looks like the man is trying to get Kent to go with him somewhere, but Kent refuses in a good natured way. She stands up, brushes off the bagel crumbs from her dress and heads towards him. When he sees her, he frowns and starts walking briskly up Fifth Street.

            “I thought I told you no,” he says. She tries hard to keep up with his pace and when he sees how out of breath she is, he sighs and slows down for her, just a tiny bit.

            “I have a hard time taking no for an answer,” she replies. He casts a sidelong glance at her before he takes a sharp turn at the corner at the very last second, which has Felicity out of sorts. She almost steps out into the street not having enough time to switch direction as well and she gasps at the oncoming car. Kent snatches her out of the street. He lets go of her as soon as he knows she’s safe and starts walking again.

            “I can see that,” he murmurs. “Look, I’m not going to change my mind. So you best be on your way –”

            “You know, I was on a train to Gotham a few weeks ago from Starling City. That’s where I’m from. Anyway, that’s not the point. There was this boy sitting across from me with his mother, and he had a strange toy,” Felicity interrupts. Kent can’t help but throw another glance at her.

            “Where are you going with this?”

            “Shut up, and you’ll see,” Felicity answers. “As I was saying, a little boy with strange toy. It was a wooden man with blue tights, and a red cape. His father had carved it for him, and I thought – that was really sweet of him to do that for his kid. Not a lot of fathers would.”

            Kent slows down and she is relieved.

            “You’re an alien from outer space,” she continues purposefully letting her voice carry over the breeze a little.

            “Shhh! Are you nuts?” he hisses grabbing her elbow. She jerks her elbow out from his grasp.

            “But this is your _home_. You made it home and you care a _lot_ about us. Us, humans.”

            Kent stops in his tracks and it takes Felicity a moment to realize this. She stops and turns to him.

            “You know my identity,” he says in a low voice.

            “Look, I know that I might seem like a threat to you –”

            “No, not a threat to me. But you are a threat – a threat to those people I keep safe by having _this_ identity. There are people who I love and care for – that I need to protect!” Kent says furiously, his voice getting lower once more.

            His words strike a chord in her and she retorts, “You think I don’t know about protecting the people you care about? I have seen those who sacrifice and sacrifice so that their loved ones are safe. _I’ve_ sacrificed and I know the cost.”

            She’s breathing a little heavily and she blinks back the tears quickly. Felicity inwardly winces at she thinks about the hitch in her voice as she said her piece. He’s staring down at her but she can’t read his face. So she keeps talking.

            “But I also know the good that comes out of it. Lives saved and changed for good. I know that it saved me,” Felicity says quietly.

            “I have my own fight,” he says. Felicity lets out a small choked laugh.

            “We all do. But some things are bigger than just one person. And no matter how…super you are, you’re still one person, Clark.”

            Felicity grabs his large hand and he looks at her with surprise. She grabs a pen from her purse and takes the cap off with her mouth. With the cap between her teeth, she jots down her phone number on his hand. She lets go and she puts the cap and pen away.

            “When you’re ready,” she states. Then she walks away, leaving the man with his hand still outstretched.

 

 

            Felicity checks into a hotel at night, completely exhausted. She has to give cops a lot of credit. Staking out is no easy task. She gets their affinity to donuts considering she had to make do with a bagel. She slips out of her shoes and sinks down onto the small futon. She has no idea whether to chalk today up to a success or not or if she actually got through to Kent. Gordon and Lucius can’t say that she didn’t give it her all and that’s really all a girl can do anyway.

            “This league better be worth it,” she mutters. Rubbing her temples gently, she reaches over to the lampstand for the cordless phone. “Might as well order room service,” she says while pressing the buttons.

            When the chilled wine is delivered, the night is about to get much better. The wine sloshes into the large glass and as she swirls the liquid around, she gets deep in thought. A good salesman can’t make his pitch without truly believing in the product that he’s selling. That’s what Ol’ Robbie said to her a lifetime ago when he lived with her and her mother. Ol’ Robbie was the only one she liked out of all the men her mother brought home. He’d treat her like an equal, and taught her useful things like changing a tire and checking her oil. He was all right at fiddling around with a car but he was a damn good salesman. Felicity had always thought her mother had fallen for his sales pitch about commitment and caring for both her and Felicity for the long run and then put aside the fact that the man had a bald patch and tired eyes.

            “Poor Ol’ Robbie,” Felicity says and sighs. Too bad her mother broke his heart for the flashy schmuck that swept in two years later.

            Does she believe in what she’s selling? Does she believe in the Justice League? A team of heroes working together to fight evil is a really nice thought. From firsthand experience, she knows that working together is much better than fighting alone. Sara, Roy, John, Oliver, and herself make a good team, but that team revolves around Oliver. He makes the calls, decides which fight to fight. Honestly, it flows smoothly that way and Diggle, Sara, Felicity and Roy all make their opinions known, allowing for a check and balance if Oliver strays too far.

            But a team of Olivers would mean an agenda would not be set by one man but by many. In an ideal world, this would be a beautiful thing – people putting their selfish desires to unite together for a purpose. But in the real world, Felicity could just as easily see it falling to pieces.

            It’s a hard sell. But she remembers the boy with his doll. She imagines him having a whole slew of dolls that he plays with knowing that he is being watched over by a league of heroes. She could have benefited from that when she was his age.

            “Well, Superman. The ball’s in your court.”

            Felicity puts those thoughts aside and takes it easy, catching up on her shows and emailing Diggle back. An alert from her Starling City data system pops up on her computer. Shots fired at an underground parking garage. Jack Fallon killed.

            Goosebumps make their way up her arms as she clicks through the information. _Smith._ He wouldn’t have killed Fallon unless he was able to get what he wanted.

            “The microprocessors. What does he need them for?” she murmurs. She glances down at her phone and then quickly connects it to the laptop. The number he texted from is restricted and it’s probably from a burner phone. But as she traces the number, she gets pings from multiple places all over the world. When it’s clear she’s at a dead end, Felicity enters the chat rooms that she visits sometimes to get a feel for what’s going on nationally, security wise. They’re not the most legal of online spaces.

            There are only a handful of people she trust in these rooms – one or two of them she knew from MIT. They had eventually dropped out and mysteriously fell off the face of the earth only to pop up again a few years later with a stealthy online presence. Most of the talk was irrelevant, but here and there, a guy was mentioned who was stealing from companies all over the world and deaths following in his wake. But most people didn’t believe it and laughed it off.

            But then there was one user that she found after an hour of searching desperately that popped up at her. _Fly67_. He was an outsider in these rooms and didn’t contribute much to the chats. When he did, they were random sentences that had nothing to do with what anyone was talking about. One sentence catches her eye.  _I have no more use for arrows._ Felicity ignores the confused replies Fly67 gets and takes note of the time stamp. 

            As a thought dawns her, she lunges for her tablet to access her calendar. As she scrolls down, she sees that Fly67 had typed this a day before Oliver and Diggle got ambushed. A sense of dread creeps up her spine and she settles in for the long haul of matching dates with his comments.

            It’s two in the morning by the time she’s done cross checking every comment, she knows that Fly67 is indeed Smith. Every odd throwaway sentence is connected to a robbery, a mysterious death, and other shady incident.

            “Gotcha,” Felicity whispers.

            Felicity spreads a wide net and starts filtering through the information. He seems impossible to trace and all she hits are dead ends. So she enters the chat room again and stares at the screen for a long time.

            _You’re all smoak and mirrors. Time to step out into the light._

            She pauses before she clicks on the send button. Felicity leans back and groans.

            “What the hell did you just do?” she says to the empty room.

 

 

            She wakes up to a beep from her phone and her hand fumbles around until she feels the cool metal. Rubbing her face, Felicity opens up her messages and finds a text from a number she doesn’t recognize.

            _It’s Clark Kent. I’m willing to talk. Meet me at the Daily Planet at 5 PM. 16 th floor._

            Felicity shoots up and beams. She pumps her fist into the air.

            “Yes!”

            She throws herself back down on her bed and then kicks her feet up several times in excitement. After lying in bed for awhile relishing in the fact that something was actually going right in her life, she checks the time. She’s overslept and it’s quarter after noon. When she remembers why she got up so late, the excitement fades.

            Felicity covers her eyes with one hand and moans as she turns on her side. A deep ache spreads within her. She hates these moments that sneak up on her that remind her that she’s not in the comfort of the lair with Oliver and John there to keep her company. Long nights in hotel rooms going after someone on her own weigh her down emotionally, and she wonders if she was better off staying in Starling City completely wrapped up in Oliver.

            “This is what you wanted,” she mutters. She slowly gets up again and pulls open the drapes. The sun shines into the room and the warmth touches her skin. Felicity stretches and wonders what to do until five. Then she remembers passing by a lovely pair of shoes in a window display. Her lips turn up into a smile. She could always do a little shopping.

 

 

            The marbled floors stretch across the large lobby of the Daily Planet building. The building is older but the gold color theme makes the tower inviting and invokes a sense of nostalgia. The people in the lobby are constantly moving either in or out of the building. Most were busy looking down at their phones or talking into them. Felicity stands to observe her surroundings but this act causes suspicion. Noticing this, she walks up to the two security guards who are manning the barriers a few feet away from the elevators.

            “Hi, um Clark Kent asked me to meet him. On the sixteenth floor?” Felicity says. The guards relax and nod.

            “Yeah, Kent’s on sixteen. Just take the elevator up and you should be good,” one guard told. He motioned for her to move through the barriers.

            “Thanks.”

            She hurries to an elevator before its doors can close.

            “Sorry, sorry. Thanks,” she mutters. Felicity nudges her way in, ignoring the exasperated sighs. She pushes a button and the doors slide shut. The reporters trickle out as the elevator makes its way up until the last reporter steps off on the 15th floor. Once he’s gone, the elevator moves up one floor. Felicity waits for the doors to open, but nothing happens.

            She frowns and looks up at the panel that lists all of the floors. The number 16 is lit up. Felicity pushes the button that signals the doors to open and still there is no movement.  After a moment, she hits 15 and the elevator is moving again. The doors open again and with confusion, Felicity steps off.

            “All right, walking up one flight of stairs won’t kill me,” she says. Felicity pulls her phone out to check the time and sees that she’s still five minutes early. She heads to the stairs. When she’s in the stairwell exit, the door shuts behind her with a resounding series of beeps.

            Felicity pauses at the sound and pivot on her feet to look back at the door. Gingerly, she wraps her fingers around the door handle and pulls down. It doesn’t give way. She tries a few more times but it’s clear the door is locked. Felicity spots the keypad a few inches away from the door.

            Felicity clamors up the stairs to the next floor and pulls the door handle vigorously several times as the panic rises within her. She whips out her phone again and opens to the text from Kent. After one touch of the call button, she holds the phone against her ear. It rings for what seems forever.

            “Hello?” Felicity freezes at the familiar mechanical voice and her breath catches. She then closes her eyes and slows her breath down and when she flashes her eyes open again, there’s a glint of hot rage in them.

            “How are you doing this?” she says.

            “That’s some greeting for your favorite archer in green,” someone says from the other side.

            “So you took his voice. That was a lot of effort on your part. Mad props,” she says coolly. 

            “It took a few tries but it was well worth it to see the look on your face,” he replies.

            Felicity stops herself from whirling around to look at the CCTV cameras in the stairwell.

            “What do you want, Smith?” she asks. The chuckle sounds eerie coming from the Arrow’s voice, but there’s some comfort in knowing that Oliver would never chuckle like that, at least not in the suit.

            “I was going to ask you the same thing. First, you tell me to fuck off and then you leave me a lovely message telling me to show myself. Love what you did with the smoke and mirrors thing by the way, very cute. You’re very confusing,” he replies.

            “I’d apologize but seeing as I don’t really give a damn, there would be no point.” Felicity starts to make her way down the stairwell.

            “They’re all locked. All 22 floors,” he says.

            “Well, now what?” she asks, clenching the railing so tightly that her hand loses circulation.

            “Roof, please.” Smith hangs up the phone.

            There’s a slight tremor in her hands as she makes her way up the stairs. Her ankles nearly give way a few times and she curses the heels. She makes a vow to always carry a pair of sneakers in her bag in case of emergencies, such as kidnappings and hijacked stairwells.

            The door to the roof has a bar that she can push on and she does so lightly. The door creaks opens and the bright sunlight hurts her eyes. As she step out into the light, she scans the open area. The sounds of traffic, people talking, and the birds bring her some comfort, but there is nothing on the roof. She spreads her arms out, unsure if Smith still has eyes on her.

            “I’m here! What do you want?” she shouts.

            Her phone rings, but this time it’s a video call. Without hesitating, she answers it. The images are unclear at first until the user finds a way to zoom out. Felicity gasps as she sees her mother through a glass window. It’s a sniper’s view of the diner that her mother has been working as a waitress at for the past few years.  Her mother is smiling at the customer, jotting down her orders onto her notepad before sticking it in her front pocket of her apron. Then the image blacks out as the call is dropped. Felicity stares down at the blank screen.

            When it rings in her hand again, Felicity slowly brings it up to her ear.

            “What do you want?” she croaks.

            “Jump,” Smith says in the Arrow voice.

            Felicity stays silent as she strides forward to the edge of the roof, which has a foot long cement barrier around the perimeter. She looks down at the world beneath her and it seems like it’s a thousands miles away.

            “Why? Why me?” she asks.

            “I just want to confirm something,” he answers.

            “Confirm what?” Felicity yells, turning the other way. “What makes you think I’m going to jump for my mother? If you’re really as good as they say, then you know what kind of relationship we have.”

            Her heart is pounding and she wants to vomit.

            “Felicity, you would jump no matter who was on that video. That’s just the kind of person you are,” he says quietly. This tone of voice disconcerts her – a sense of admiration and care. He sounds too much like Oliver.

            “You’re sick,” she whispers.

            “Maybe, but business is business, Felicity. Time’s running out. Jump and your mother lives. Goodbye.”

            She drops her hand down to her side. Her phone vibrates and a text message pops up: _No funny business._ Felicity looks over the side of the building again. It’s funny how the traffic and the people don’t stop for her in her most desperate moment. Life still goes on, well, until her body – She shuts her eyes and refuses to think about it.

            But there’s no way out of this without putting her mother in further risk and as much as she can’t stand her, there’s no way she can trade her mother’s life for hers. She thinks of Oliver and Diggle. _They_ would figure out some way, but she’s not them. She has no Army background, no stranded-on-island background – she’s just an IT girl.

            Felicity takes off her heels and gets on top of the ledge unsteadily. She can hardly breathe and let’s out a small sob. She wonders where Oliver is at this very moment and what he’s thinking about. And Diggle – God, she’s never going to see his baby.  But she calms herself soon enough. It comes down to one decision. Jump or don’t jump.

            Those are the two choices that she can make. She still has a _choice_ , goddammit – a choice to save her mother or not to save her. Felicity smiles. She had always been afraid that she would die in some mundane way – choke on a brownie and die in her own apartment, step out into the street to get hit by a car, and so on. She had always wanted her death to mean something especially when she started with the Arrow activities. In a way, Smith has given her a gift. She would get to save a life by dying and not many people could say that. Aside from that, just as Smith said, this is a very Felicity thing to do.

            She gets to die as Felicity Smoak, proud IT girl who sacrifices for others.

            So she jumps. No, she _dives_. If she’s going to go out, she’s going to go out with style.

            The wind is monstrous and as her body is flung this way and that, the wind is all she can think about as it overwhelms her senses. Her life doesn’t flash before her eyes, and Felicity has a split second to feel a little disappointed before she sees a bright red “S” looming. She gasps as strong arms wrap around her waist.

            Her body shifts as Superman hooks one arm beneath her knees so that he’s carrying her with a better grip. Felicity puts her hands on his expansive chest and pushes.

            “No,” she says, “He’s going to kill my mother!”

            He pulls her in closer for a tighter grip.

            “Hold on,” he says as he flies over to the center of a park away from any prying eyes.  When he lands gently, Superman lets her go.

            Felicity sobs as she brings her hand up, which has held tightly onto the phone all this time.  She gets a text message. _That’s all I needed to know. Your mother is safe._ She drops her phone as Felicity sinks to her knees, the soft grass tickling her legs. She is shaking so hard that she barely sees Superman kneel down at her level.

            “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he says. She nods but it means nothing to her.

            “I have to check – my mom –”

            Superman nods and hands her the phone. She can barely make use of it with her trembling hands. God, she hasn’t called her mother in years. She wouldn’t even recognize her number.

            The phone rings.

            “Hello?” says her mother cheerily. Felicity hangs up right away.

            “She’s fine,” she whispers. She shifts her body so that she’s sitting crossed legged and Superman takes a seat as well, one knee up so that he can rest his arm on it. They sit there for a long time, ignoring a few blatant stares by those who decided to go for a stroll in the park.

            “I’m sorry. He knows who you are. He knows Clark Kent,” Felicity finally speaks up. Superman frowns.

            “Who’s he?”

            “Smith. He’s been after me for awhile. I – God, I’m sorry. Your identity –” she says. Superman places his hand over hers.

            “Don’t. It’s not your fault. There will always be people like him in the world. Are _you_ all right?”

            Felicity turns to look at him, really look at him. The voice, the hair, the eyes, the suit, they all add up to something so…noble. There’s a sense of purity and sincerity about him. He just looks so ready to take on her burdens for her – _anyone’s_ burdens. The burdens of humanity. This man is so much bigger than her or Oliver or Diggle or her mother.

            “No. I just feel so lost,” she whispers as she tears her eyes away.

            “I feel that way too sometimes,” he says. “Do you know what helps me?”

            Felicity shakes her head. He looks up at the darkening sky.

            “I think about home.”

            She follows his gaze to the faint stars. “Krypton?”

            He smiles at her and stands up. He reaches his hand down for hers.

            “Let me show you.”

 

 

            Felicity doesn’t know what she was expecting but she knows she didn’t expect Superman to grab her hand and then toss her as if she was nothing but a bag of feathers so that he can catch her in his arms. She definitely did not expect Superman taking flight with her arms around his neck. With the shock of the fall, Felicity didn’t get to fully experience the fact that the man was flying, but now she can take it all in.

            “Oh God, oh God, oh God. That’s a tree - tree, TREE!”

            Superman grins as he dodges it at the very last second and then shoots up thousands of feet further into the air. She screams as she burrows her face as far as she can into his chest.

            “This is _worse_ than skydiving,” she moans.

            “You’re missing the sights,” he laughs. Felicity cautiously lifts her head to peek out over his arms. They’re in the clouds but as they float away, she can make out the cityscape and the outskirts of the city. Soon, the traces of city life fade away and the land gets flatter and flatter.

            “Are those cornfields?” she asks.

            “Welcome to Smallville, Kansas, Miss Smoak,” his voice rumbles.

            He drops in altitude and finally touches down next to a rather large barn. The breeze sways the rows and rows of cornstalks that stand tall only a few feet away. Next to the barn, is a house, creaky and old, but inviting.

            “You can let go now,” Superman says. Felicity glances down and realizes her feet are touching the ground but her arms are still wrapped around his neck. She steps away from him quickly.

            “Clark Kent! You better leave that barn alone! Your father _just_ fixed it after you threw a hideous space alien at it –” a woman’s voice says from behind Felicity. Felicity yelps as the woman strides towards Superman with a spatula in her hand.  Superman grins.

            “Ma, _I’m_ a space alien –” he says.

            “No, you’re my _son_ and you’re far from hideou– why, who’s this?” the woman says staring curiously at Felicity. She clears her throat and looks at Superman with uncertainty. He places a hand on her shoulder.

            “Ma, this is Felicity Smoak. Felicity, this is Martha Kent, my mother.”

            “Hello, Mrs. Kent. It’s very nice to meet you,” Felicity says putting her hand out. Martha Kent pushes past the hand and embraces her. She’s warm and soft and smells like home baked cookies.

            “It’s Martha. Come in. Come in. You must be hungry after the flight. I don’t know how he does it. I’d prefer a nice plane any day.”

            Martha marches both her son and Felicity into the backdoor of the house, which leads straight into the kitchen. An older man is sitting at the table reading a newspaper. He turns to them and smiles.

            “Tell me my barn is still standing,” he says. Superman rolls his eyes.

            “Yes, Pa. That was an _accident_. You’re never going to let it go, are you?” he replies as he walks into the next room. Seconds later, he’s back as Clark Kent. Felicity gapes at him.

            “How’d you do that?”

            Clark winks at her and then goes to check on what his mother is cooking on the stove.

            “I’m Jonathan Kent. I hope you’re staying for dinner,” the man says congenially. Felicity smiles.

            “Yes, thank you. My name is Felicity Smoak. I’m, um, Clark’s, uh-” Felicity frowns not sure how to put their recent encounters in words.

            “Flame?” Martha interjects hopefully.

            “Uh –”

            “ _Ma_ , and no one says that anymore,” Clark says warningly as he chews something in his mouth. Martha shoos him away from the stove with her spatula.

            “Well, you fly her in from God knows where. _I don’t know._ Can’t your mother hope?”

            Felicity feels her face turn red.

            “Uh no, we just met –”

            The three of them turn to look at her. Then Martha and Jonathan look at Clark imploringly. Clark throws his hands up in the air.

            “We’re _friends_. She’s a friend who needs some of your home cooking, Ma,” Clark says with good humor, but there is a look exchanged between mother and son. An understanding must have taken place because the woman soon puts her arm around Felicity’s shoulders.

            “Well then, you’re just in time. I’ve got casserole in the oven,” she says warmly. Felicity melts into her a little and can only smile when the woman mutters about how thin she is and how she’s going to change that with some dessert. Felicity feels Clark’s eyes on her and she grins at him. His eyes twinkle in response.

 

 

            Once dinner is over, Felicity tries to help with the dishes, but Martha has none of it and literally pushes her outside with Clark.

            “Enjoy the fresh air while you can. Metropolis – well, Clark can tell you how I feel about the city,” she says and the back door swings shut.

            The air is sweet and the night is quiet. Felicity sighs.

            “Thank you. I…needed that.”

            Clark grins and takes her hand. Felicity looks at him quizzically but he just pulls her gently towards the barn. He puts both of his hands on her waist and then they’re hovering up in the air. Next thing she knows, they’re lying against the slight plane of the roof of the barn, looking up at the stars.

            “I can’t believe I let you put me on a roof again,” she mutters.

            “You’re safe with me,” he assures her with some concern. Felicity just shakes her head and smiles.

            “So this is what you protect.”

            “Yes,” he says. “I protect them just as you protect those you love.”

            “You’re so _human_ ,” Felicity says after a moment, turning her head slightly to look at him. His eyes are still on the stars.

            “What were you expecting?” he asks.

            “I don’t know, but not a boy from Kansas,” Felicity admits.

            “Well, you’re not a typical IT girl,” Clark says. After a pause, he continues, “I’ll do it. The club or whatever.”

            Felicity sits up but he’s still looking at the sky.

            “Really?” she says excitedly.           

            “Really,” he replies.

 

 

            Superman flies her back to her hotel in Gotham inconspicuously as he can. It’s a long ride, but Felicity is thankful for the hours he shaved off her timetable. When he lets go of her, he gives her a small wave and flies off. After he disappears into the sky, Felicity gets back to her room. She can already feel the warmth of the Kents’ home fade away.  So she draws back the drapes and stares out at a city beneath her for the second time. Felicity places one hand on the glass and then pulls out her phone to dial home. The phone barely rings once before he answers.

            “Hey,” he says.

            “Hey,” she says.

            A pause.

            “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asks concern laced in his voice. Felicity can hear him rustling around. She can also hear nightclub music pounding in the background. She remembers that Oliver has a job nowadays. The music fades away as he moves so that he can talk more privately.

            “Yeah, I’m fine. I – I just had a _really_ bad day, and I needed to talk to someone,” Felicity says quietly staring out the window.

            “Okay, I’m listening,” he says. His voice is still and calm.

            “When someone threatens the people you care about, how do you deal with it?” she asks. There’s a moment of silence and she knows that Oliver desperately wants to ask her what happened, but he’s forcing himself to be patient.

            “There are times I am willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they’re okay. But sometimes, I go too far and that’s when I go to you and Dig,” he answers. Felicity closes her eyes.

            “I wanted to hurt him so bad,” she whispers.

            “ _Who_ , Felicity?” he presses with a note of urgency.

            Felicity trembles at the thought of Smith and lets out a small whimper before she can stop herself.

            “ _Felicity_ , talk to me, please,” Oliver pleads but his voice is hardening again the way it does when he jumps into Arrow mode.

            “This is my fight,” she says, steadying her voice.

            There’s another pause.

            “Your fight… How many times have you and Dig told me that I’m not alone? How can you say that now? Let us help you, Felicity!” he nearly shouts his last sentence into the phone.  He calms himself down to say, “I know something is going on with you, with Fallon – he’s dead now. Whatever you’re up to, it isn’t safe.”

            “I’m sorry. I know I’m worrying you,” she says.

            “Damn right, you’re worrying me,” he snaps with a hint of anger and hurt.

            Felicity gazes at the lights flashing through the city. Gotham, in its own way, is beautiful too, but it gives her no comfort.

            “I need you,” Felicity finally says.

            “I’m coming,” he replies with relief.

            “No, Oliver. I need you to tell me that I’m going to be okay,” she says, her voice tight.

            A long pause. She can almost hear him pacing.

            “You’re going to be okay,” he rasps out.

            “Today, when I was up there, all I could think about was you and Diggle and, and Baby Diggle – and how you’re my _home._ Family, and I just need to know that you’ll be there after…all of this.”

            “We’ll be right here,” he says softly.

            “Thank you,” she murmurs.

            “Felicity-”

            “I have to go,” Felicity whispers, pulling the drapes closed.

            He sighs.

            “You’re not going to tell me what’s going on, are you?”

            “Nope.”

            “You need _anything,_ you call me right away. Do you understand?”

            “Goodnight, Oliver.”

            She smiles at the second frustrated sigh.

            “’Night, Felicity.”

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nick is NOT mine.

_You have 8 new voice messages._

_First message from “John Diggle” at 11:01 AM._

“You jumped off a 300-foot building. I am eating my lunch, and watching _you_ , Felicity Smoak, jump off a 300-foot building, in Metropolis, on the news. I wasn’t aware you had taken up BASE jumping as a hobby. What the hell is going on? Call me. I mean it.”

 

_Second message from “John Diggle” at 11:03 AM._

“Oh and you are in so much trouble when Oliver finds out. Not that you don’t already know that.”

 

_Third message from “Oliver Queen” at 11:16 AM._

“Call me, _now._ ”

 

_Fourth message from “Roy Harper” at 11:35 AM._

“Was that guy _flying?_ That’s some serious shit. Oh and, uh, I hope you’re okay. You should probably give the guys a call. They’re calling like an emergency meeting or something.”

 

_Fifth message from “Oliver Queen” at 11:36 AM._

“Answer the phone, Felicity.”

 

_Sixth message from “Oliver Queen” at 12:04 PM._

“I’m not kidding, Felicity. I am past worried right now. I am _furious_. You didn’t mention _any_ of this last night. You jumped off a – and I _know_ you’re not suicidal, no matter what the news is saying. It’s about whoever’s working with Fallon, isn’t it? It’s bad enough that you left, but _this?_ Jumping off buildings, going after Hark. This is such bullsh-”

 

_Seventh message from “John Diggle” at 2:45 PM._

“Oliver’s pissed, Felicity. And you know what? I’m not too happy with you myself. We’re really worried about you and you don’t even give us a call? Oliver and I talked and we’re leaving for Gotham in a few hours. Oliver wanted to leave right away but I cooled him down a bit. I just wanted to give you a heads up.”

 

_Eighth message from “Oliver Queen” at 5:29 PM._

“Your voicemail cut me off. That’s probably a good thing. We’re coming, Felicity and you have a lot of explaining to do.”

           

* * *

 

            Nick, the bartender, groans as he sits up and swings his legs over the side of the bed to reach the floor. He leans over and rubs his face with his palms, sighing as his rough stubble scratches his fingers. Clad only in boxers, Nick takes three steps, stumbling over a pair of jeans, to get into the bathroom. It takes him all about ten minutes to wash up and get dressed in his work clothes.

            He’s still hung over from last night, so he takes another eight steps to his tiny kitchen, kicking other items of clothing out of the way. Coffee, he needs coffee. The sounds of coffee dripping into the pot combined with the smell of hazelnut helps Nick feel much better about himself and his day.

            He checks the time and winces. He can’t be late to work again so as soon as the coffee’s done brewing, he pours it into a thermos. Nick tries to take as many gulps as he can only to burn the inside of his mouth and lips. He spews some coffee out into the sink, his lips contorting into a grotesque shape.

            “Hot, hot, hot,” he pants. Nick tries to rinse out his mouth but the sink makes an odd sputtering sound. He gets a plunger and puts it down the drain. Nick moves the plunger with wild motions and gets the sputtering to stop. He taps the faucet with an affectionate grin.

            “Good girl.”

            Then he attempts to drink his coffee from his thermos again.

            Much better.

            As he leans on the counter, Nick notices red flashing on his answering machine. After another glance at his watch, he presses the button on the answering machine.

            “Man, Nick. Who still has an answering machine nowadays? You need to get yourself a cellphone. Android, iPhone, take your pick. Anyway, Los Angeles, you and me, Nick. Just you and me. Oh and Coach and Winston. Well, maybe not Winston. C’mon, buddy. You know you want to do this. Ring me back.”

            Nick closes his eyes in exasperation as he deletes the message. His college roommate is not what he wants to hear first thing in the…evening. He’s probably the sole reason that Nick refuses to get a cell phone anyway. The thought of his friend having instant access to Nick gives him another headache that no amount of coffee will cure.

            With one last look in the mirror, Nick leaves his studio apartment. He makes his way down the stairs and runs into one of his neighbors.

            “J.J. How’s it going?”

            “What’s up, man,” the man nods before he’s on his way. Nick walks past the giggling couple making out by the mailboxes.

            When he’s outside, he breathes in the night air of Gotham City. Living in the harsher side of the city, he knows which corners to avoid and which route to the hotel is the fastest and safest. It’s only been about three years since he moved here from Chicago, but Nick’s getting used to this place, the underbelly of Gotham City. Hell, the underbelly of the entire goddamn United States. This place suits him just fine. Who needs L.A.?

            Nick doesn’t mind the late shift too much. The customers tend to be more interesting although most of the time, they’re just sad. He likes to guess what they’re sad about – usually money or relationships. Mostly, he does his job, flash the smile, and give them their drinks.  Once in a while, he’ll chat with them, get a sense of what’s going on their lives.

            Like that Felicity girl. He smiles at the thought of her. A cute blonde had shown up one night a little frazzled and completely exhausted. She asked a question, which he still isn’t sure if it was meant to be rhetorical or not, but he answered it. By answering it, he even shared a little bit about himself. She left in a rush, but about every few nights she came back. Their chats were short and simple but he found himself waiting for her during his shifts.

            He doesn’t know what to make of her. He knows that she travels and is probably staying at a suite for work indefinitely. There’s something quirky about her and when she’s a little tipsy, her vulnerable side shows. That’s when he just wishes the best for her and hopes that she works out whatever issue she’s facing.

            Nick arrives at the hotel and goes towards the back entrance through the alleyway. He hears people talking in hushed tones and he frowns. Unable to hold in his curiosity, Nick cranes his neck but then he sees a flash of blonde hair. The blonde hair paired with the bright colored clothing lets him know that it’s Felicity.

            He smiles. She’s back from Metropolis. She had mentioned she had a business trip there. But Felicity scurries around to the front of the hotel and he isn’t able to greet her.

            Nick enters the hotel through the back and gets an acknowledging nod by the security guards.  When he gets to the bar, the bartender, Jack, currently manning it sighs. He jerks his head in the direction of two men on the other side of the bar, who they liked to call Jackass #1 and Jackass #2.  Nick realizes that he and his co-worker would never be accused of being creative.

            “They’ve quieted down, but good luck. I’m outta here,” Jack murmurs before clapping his hand on Nick’s back. Nick winces, the large man always forgets his strength.

            “Yeah, thanks. Have a good night,” he says over his shoulder.

            He sighs and gets to work. For about an hour, the customers trickle in and out and he enjoys every minute of it. From the jazz music, to the dark lighting, and even down to the drunk sad people, the world just feels right here. As he looks up from the bar, he catches sight of a woman walking this way and he cannot help but smile. She hops on a barstool right in front of him.

            “Hi, Nick.”

            “Hey there. Your usual?” he asks flashing his grin.

            “Oh God, I have a usual, but yes, my usual,” she says. When she catches the two men out of the corner of her eye, she whispers, “It’s Jackass One and Two.”

            Nick nearly jumps and his face flushes.

            “How’d you – oh my God,” he stammers. She winks at him.

            “I overheard you guys talking that one night,” she replies and asks in a playful manner, “What do you guys call me?”

            Nick doesn’t stop to think before he answers.

            “The cute blonde.” He stops in his tracks and gapes at Felicity as if she had been the one to make the incredibly stupid mistake. “Um, sorry.”

            At least, she doesn’t look offended. A little startled at first maybe, but soon the amusement is clear.

            “Aw, that’s sort of sweet,” she says and then mutters, “At least my bartender notices.”

            Once he readies the drink, he places it in front of her and he tries his best not to look at her still feeling sheepish.

            “So how was Metropolis?” he asks. Her smile falters.

            “Hectic,” she answers, “I just got back in tonight.”

            “Yeah? Everything go okay?” The way her eyes get that faraway look makes him think things didn’t go quite as planned.

            “Yes. Sort of. Not really. But in the end, it worked…out,” she says and then lets out a humorless laugh, “Sorry, that’s a terrible answer.”

            Nick shrugs, “It’s an answer. Hold on a second.”

            For the next ten minutes, he serves the other customers but he anxiously throws glances her way, hoping to God she doesn’t leave too soon. When he’s done with his duties, he’s back to her. Before he can open his mouth, she speaks.

            “It’s just not fair. I told him I _loved_ him and he didn’t say anything. Nothing. But when things are bad, he gets all worried about me and I know he’s worried because I’m his friend, his partner.  But sometimes, I can’t help but think – God, sorry. Sorry, Nick. I know you probably listen to all this crap all the time,” Felicity moans covering her face with her hands.

            “Well, did you give him a chance to say anything?” he asks while he wipes down the surfaces, ignoring the tingling sense of disappointment. She looks up at him.

            “What?”

            “Some girls just say their piece and then move on without giving the guy a chance to respond. I mean, did you _ask_ him if he loved you back?”

            She frowns and squints her eyes at him, “Uh…no. Should…I have?”

            Nick shrugs again, “Maybe? You would know for sure, if you had.”

            “If I had straight up just asked him? But wouldn’t he have said anything by now if he did?” she asks, her nose crinkling up.

            “Depends. How much of an idiot is he?” he asks.

            Felicity laughs loudly and a few people turn their heads. She covers her mouth, embarrassed.

            “He can get pretty high on the idiot scale,” she says in an exaggerated quiet voice.

            “See. You don’t know. He might love you back,” he says. But she shakes her head, a little forlorn.

            “Even if he did, it would be complicated.”

            Nick’s mouth gets a little dry and he leans in.

            “Either way, he’s still an idiot for letting a girl like you go,” he says. As the woman looks up, she looks like she’s about to say her thanks for the polite, sweet words but when her eyes meet his, the words seem to fall away. Nick swallows. He didn’t mean to say it like that. Felicity breaks the gaze.

            “How long have you been working here?” she asks.

            “Um, about three years. I moved to Gotham from Chicago then after I quit law school. Just needed a fresh start, and found this job,” Nick says after he clears his throat. Felicity tilts her head a little sideways and then takes a sip.

            “What made you quit law school?”

            This time Nick lets out a low chuckle.

            “I felt like there had to be more to life than this. I don’t know. Maybe I just got scared and ran. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

            Felicity nods.

            “I’ve been there. Thinking there was more to life, I mean. Even now, I wonder…” She trails off, her thoughts a million miles away again.

            “Hey, I’m off tomorrow and I know this great pizza place. Want to grab dinner with me tomorrow night?” he says, purposefully breaking her train of thought. His throat tightens. _Oh God, that was stupid, Miller. Crap, crap, crap-_

            “Is this a date?” she asks after a pause. He looks at her, and promises to himself that he’s always going to give it to this girl straight.

            “Yes.”

            She stares at him for the longest time and then grins.

            “Okay. It’s a date.”

            “Good. Great. Awesome.”

            “Wow, you’re almost as bad as I am,” she comments with a little awe. Nick scratches the back of his neck.

            “What do you mean?” he asks.

            “You babble. I babble when I get nervous. Are you _nervous_?” she asks, her eyes twinkling.

            “What? No! I’m not nervous,” he says busying himself with the rag in his hand again.

            “So you’re good, great, and awesome then?” she says smiling sweetly.

            “Shut up,” he mutters and then after a pause, he jokes, “God, a guy tries to ask a girl out and she just has to go and embarrass –”

            “Sorry! Sorry! No, don’t be embarrassed. I’m just saying, _I_ do that, like all the time-”

            Nick covers her hand with his and smiles.

            “Hey, I’m kidding.”

They’re really close to one another with just the bar in between them. She has really beautiful eyes, he notes. And a cute nose and really nice lips -

            “Just kiss her already!” Jackass #1 shouts. Nick closes his eyes. The moment ruined, he pulls back but then she stops him. She stands up and tugs on his collars to bring him closer to her.

            Her lips softly cover his for the merest of seconds. Nick can barely hear the sprinkled whistles, hoots, and the cheers that surround them. They both step back, a little breathless.

            “So on a scale of good and awesome, how was that?” she asks.

            “Pretty damn awesome,” he says. They stand there, both a little flushed and with an embarrassed smile spreading across their faces.

 

 

            “How do you not have a cellphone? That’s like a basic necessity,” Felicity gapes at Nick as they walk through the streets of Gotham. Nick shrugs.

            “I don’t do well with electronics. I don’t like them. They don’t like me. It’s a mutual thing. Anyway, I do just fine,” he says. The young woman still stares at him if he’s from outer space and then just shakes her head. Then she spots something up ahead and then grins at Nick.

            Nick sees the Verizon Wireless store that she’s looking at and shakes his head.

            “No way. Please don’t do this,” he begs knowing it’s already a lost cause. With an impish smile, Felicity drags him towards the store.

            “Sorry, Nick, but unfortunately you picked a MIT graduate to ask out.”

            “What?” he says blinking.

            “You know, computer science, IT girl, hacker.”

            She drags him further and he blinks again and thinks he misheard her over the traffic and the screaming hotdog vendor.

            “Did you just say _hack_?” he says. She turns to him and then bites her lip.

            “Pretend that you didn’t hear me say that,” Felicity says grinning, “Otherwise, I’d have to hack into your bank account and you know, do stuff.”

            Nick scratches the back of his head.

            “Are you part of that Geek Squad thing?” he asks, his eyes squinting as the sunrays beam down on them. Felicity laughs.

            “Oh my God, Nick. Just stop talking.”

            He obliges her and they walk into the store. The place gives him anxiety but at least they’re blasting the air conditioner. Felicity walks up to the glass counters with the phones on display. She has a confident air about her, which manifests through her walk, which also means that Nick can’t help but appreciate her dark jeans. He swallows and stands next to her.

            One look and Nick’s already ready to get out of there.

            “Nope. Nuh-uh.”

            Felicity arches one eyebrow.

            “Why not? Why are you so freaked out?”

            Nick gestures towards the display case.

            “The touch screens! I’ve tried my friend’s phone and do you not see these fingers?” Nick asks putting up his hand in front of her face and then wriggling his fingers. “They’re stubby and huge, and I end up pressing more than one thing. Why do they come up with this stuff? What is wrong with good old-fashioned buttons?”

            He turns red when he realizes that he’s getting a few stares from around the store. Felicity just looks like she’s barely holding her laughter in.

            “All right. All right. Calm down. You are so archaic. Hmm, let me see…”

            Felicity gets to the corner of the store and she finds a small silver flip phone. She opens it up to show him the keypad.

            “Look at that. Buttons.”

            Nick eyes it suspiciously.

            “No internet? Just calling?”

            Felicity nods and then adds, “Well, there’s texting, but you’re just going to have to deal with that.”

            “All right, fine,” he sighs and he hides his amusement at the girl’s excitement.

            Once Nick takes care of his contract at the front, Felicity flips his phone open again.

            “Okay, contacts. Well you probably don’t have them memorized –”

            “I know my mom’s, dad’s, and…uh my college roommate’s. Just three,” he says.

            “You close with your college roommate?” she asks as they walk out of the store. Nick sighs and rolls his eyes.

            “Sorta. He made me memorize it. He wouldn’t leave me alone until I did. He’s…special,” he says.  Felicity laughs.

            “I think I would like your friend. He sounds fun.”

            “Yeah, no,” he replies. He peers over Felicity’s shoulder as she adds a new contact to his phone: Felicity Smoak. Then she snaps it shut and taps the phone onto his chest.  

            “Here. Welcome to the 21st century, Nick,” she says with a bright smile. Nick wraps his hand around hers. With his other hand he pockets his new electronic, while he brings their clasped hands down to their sides. Felicity tightens her grasp a little in appreciation. Yeah, he could totally get used to this.

 

 

            “Ohmygod. This pizza is amazing,” Felicity says, her voice a little muffled as she catches a string of cheese in her mouth. Nick wipes his mouth with a napkin.

            “I told you. They don’t make pizza like this anywhere else.”

            Felicity wipes her hands and mouth and then leans back on her chair. Her head drops back a little.

            “I’m so stuffed,” she groans.

            “So you do computer-y things,” he says. Felicity lifts her head up with a smirk.

            “Computer-y?”

            “Shut up, you know what I mean. And you travel. And quite possibly do illegal things. This is all I know about you,” he says.

            “And I know that you’re from Chicago. You quit school and moved to Gotham to be a bartender. And you’re as old fashioned as my grandfather. That’s all I know about _you_ ,” Felicity quips back.

            “So who first?” Nick asks as he leans back as well.

            Felicity smiles and then crosses her arms. The look in her eyes makes him frown and he leans forward.

            “I’m from Reno,” she states and then chuckles, “God, I wish you could meet Ol’ Robbie. You two would get along so well.”

            Nick laughs, “Ol’ Robbie?”

            “Yeah, I don’t know why everyone called him that. He was one of my mother’s many boyfriends, but he was a good one. Robbie had an old soul. Huh, maybe that’s why we called him that.”

            Nick’s eyes soften, “He sounds like a nice guy. Do you keep in touch?”

            Felicity shakes her head, “Nah. I sort of left that life, you know? Don’t really keep in touch with anybody there. You think you’re ever going to go back to law school?”

            Nick chuckles again, “You know, you’re really good at that.”

            Felicity furrows her eyebrows. “Good at what?”

            “Changing the subject. I got good at that too, so I’m good at recognizing it,” he continues at Felicity’s confusion, “It’s funny. You spill some secrets like about hacking and loving this guy. But then you get all cagey when it comes to your past. I’m just saying, I get it.”

            Felicity narrows her eyes, “Glad you do, but it’s still your turn. Spill.”

            Nick spreads his hands and shrugs, “What, you want to know about how I go to bed at night feeling like an utter failure and wonder what in hell I’m doing with my life?”

            Felicity laughs, “Yes. That’s all I wanted to know!”

            They both grin at each other and she speaks up again. “Thank you. I’m glad we did this.”

            “Good,” he says quietly. Her eyes twinkle again.

            “Awesome,” she says back.

 

 

            Nick walks her back to the hotel. They’re both laughing but the laughter subsides as they reach her suite door. Felicity turns to face him after taking out her key card.

            “Tonight was fun. Thank you,” she says.

            “No problem. I had a good time,” he answers back. After a moment’s pause, Nick swallows and then leans down.

            “Nick, I – I should let you know –”

            He pulls back trying not to show his disappointment. He clears his throat.

            “I know. The idiot.”

            She gives him a small smile, “Well, that too. But my life – it’s kind of a mess right now. I don’t want you to think –”

            He smiles back, “That I have a chance?”

            She looks startled, “What? No, I – I don’t know.”

            Nick puts his hand on her shoulder, “Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

            He gazes at her and tries not to notice her licking her lips. She looks up at him with those eyes.

            “M’kay,” Felicity whispers. He closes the gap between them agonizingly slow, giving her plenty of time to step back but she doesn’t. She shuts her eyes and he gently moves his hand up to cup her face, barely grazing the skin. Nick then closes his eyes and places his mouth over her lips to give her a soft kiss. He pulls back a little and her eyes open.

            He rubs his thumb gently across her lips and then when a soft breath escapes from her, he reaches down again. Nick deepens the kiss and feels her arms around his neck. Then she brings one arm down and he can vaguely hear her fumbling around with the door. After a beep, she leans against the door pulling him with her as the door gives way.

            The kiss is slow but holy shit, so good, as they step into the dark suite. He rests his hands on her waist and she lets out a tiny moan. He moves with her as she backs up and chuckles against her lips when she accidentally hits a decorative dresser. Nick covers her lips with his again and then lifts her gently up onto the dresser. That’s when he notices a mirror above it and what he sees in the reflection, makes him stop in his tracks. He hears a gasp from Felicity.

            “Ahem.”

            Nick grabs the umbrella lying by the dresser and flings himself around, placing himself in front of Felicity. Two very built men stand a few feet away from them.  Their stances are…different than what Nick is used to. They both look like they’re from the Army or are the damn Green Berets. The men are both _huge_ and look like they could snap both of their necks if they wanted to. Nick swallows, his mouth suddenly feeling extra dry. The white guy looks a little murderous, while the other guy seems somewhat amused.

            “Are you serious?” Felicity shouts from behind him.

            “What do you want?” he says, trying to will the umbrella to stop shaking. Felicity gently pushes him aside, but has both of her hands on her hips.

            “Are you for real?” she shouts into their faces. “You sneak in here – how did you even know I was here?”

            “Erm, Felic-” Nick croaks.

            The two men say nothing and realization seems to dawn on her face.

            “You _tracked_ me? Diggle, that’s why you helped me pack that night? You planted trackers on _me?_ ”

            Nick turns on the light. “Uh, what the hell is going –”

            “ _You_ didn’t answer your phone!” the murderous guy snaps back.

            “It died! And I didn’t feel like talking to anyone today!” she snarls. Nick feeling dazed, leans onto the dresser.  

            “Clearly, that’s not true!” the murderous guy shouts gesturing towards Nick. At this he straightens up, crosses his arms, and tries to look like he knows exactly what’s going on. Felicity’s stance softens as she looks over at him. She walks to him, the guilt plainly written on her face.

            “Nick, I’m so sorry,” Felicity says her hand running through her hair.

            “Are you okay?” he murmurs. The emotions seem to be spilling over for her and right away he knows that this is the idiot she’s been talking about. He wants to reassure her as she nods her head to his question.

            “Okay, I’ll go,” he says quietly.

            “Wait-” she says her voice hitching.

            “Probably a good idea,” the guy mutters to himself. Felicity’s about to flash another glare towards him, but Nick grabs her arm. Ignoring the other two men, he kisses her softly one last time, while cupping the side of her face.

            Then he steps back and says, “Goodnight, Felicity.”

            “Bye, Nick,” she whispers. With one last shared gaze, he walks out the door. He chuckles to himself when he imagines what Felicity is doing to them both in there and Nick can’t help but feel sorry for them. Still, his heart is a little heavier than usual as he steps out into the cool summer night air of Gotham. After taking in one long deep breath, he takes out his new phone and stares at it. Flipping it open, he carefully punches in the numbers. Nick brings it to his ear as he lets it ring. When someone on the other end picks up, he speaks, looking up at the dark sky.

            “Hey Schmidt. About L.A. I’m thinking it’s not such a bad idea…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and a superhero have a misunderstanding.

            Felicity stills at the soft kiss Nick gives her and when he tells her goodnight, she can only whisper goodbye.  He doesn’t turn once as he leaves the room, shutting the door behind him. She looks at the door for a second before she pivots to face the two most tactless men in her life.

            “That was Nick,” she says controlling her voice so that it comes out steady, quiet, and a tiny bit dangerous. Felicity takes a step closer to them and she swears she sees Diggle shift back. “He asked me out. We had pizza. We talked. We laughed. I had fun. The most fun I had in a very, long, time.”

            Oliver’s eyes shift upwards and Diggle clears his throat.

            “Felic-”

            “Does it look like I’m done talking?” she interrupts still in that tightly controlled voice. “When _you_ decide to bed Laurel or McKenna or Sara or Helena or Carly, or Lyla, let’s see, am I missing anyone, oh yes, freaking Isabel Rochev, do _I_ stand over you and _watch_?”

            Oliver’s jaws clench.

            “That was _not_ what we were doing,” he spits out as he looks down at her. Felicity steps closer to him so that she is nearly standing on his toes and he has to pull his head back to keep his glare steady.

            “Then what the hell were you doing?”

            Oliver shuts his eyes and then opens them again in fury.

            “I came here to ask you the same question. What the hell were you doing diving off a building in Metropolis, Felicity?”

            The three of them stand erect in the middle of her hotel room in heavy silence. Felicity could almost see a line drawn across the floor with her standing on one side, and them on the other.  She steps back and the tension eases for all three people. Diggle hangs back his head in what seems to be relief.

            “How did you find out?” Felicity croaks. John crosses his arms.

            “Some kid caught it on camera and it spread to the news. Listen, I get that we probably could have gone about this a better way, but you haven’t been answering your phone. We’re worried about you,” he says trying to offer an olive branch.

            She wraps her arms around herself and sighs.

            “I know, I’m sor-”

            “What happened?” Oliver interrupts with an impatient rise in his voice. Her hackles rising at his tone, Felicity walks away from them, and starts pacing, glancing up at them every once in awhile. She rubs her temples.

            “Wayne Enterprises has been after this guy called Smith, after he breached their security system. He’s like a phantom. He hacks his way through people’s lives, and he steals and hurts people. Gordon, my boss, wanted me to go back to Starling City to find out more about him because Fallon was one of his men,”

            “So you went after Hark,” Oliver interjects, his eyes not once leaving her.

            “Yeah and we found out that he’s been supplying Smith with microprocessors, which I still don’t know what they’re being used for,” she says lifting one hand in frustration. “Anyway, in Iron Heights, Smith left a message for me. He knew who I was and after that he kept texting me from a burner phone. Finally, I left him a message pretty much telling him to show himself –”

            “You what?” he starts, but with one swift look from both Diggle and Felicity, he stops but not before gritting his teeth.

            “After I left him a message, he got me trapped in a building and forced me up the roof. Then I…got a video call. It was my mom. They had a sniper on her,” Felicity’s voice falters towards the end. “He told me that either I jump or they kill her. So I jumped.”

            And then the silence is back in the room again and Felicity rubs the back of her leg with her other foot nervously. When she puts her foot back down on the carpet, she looks up at them. She watches as the fury spreads from one man to the other. Their jaws tighten and she can almost see the veins pop up on Oliver’s temples. And John, well, she never knew that he could be so…menacing.

            “You should have called us,” Oliver says flatly.

            “They were going to kill my mother, Oliver. He’s a hacker, he would’ve found out. I wasn’t going to risk her life for anything!” she replies hotly.

            Diggle steps forward.

            “But before, you could’ve called. I don’t get it, Felicity. After everything we’ve gone through, why did you think you had to go through this alone?” His voice is soft but she can hear the hint of disappointment and sorrow. Her throat immediately clogs at this.

            “This was different. It was personal. This is between me and Smith,” she whispers, her eyes flitting from one man to the next.

            They exchange looks with one another. Oliver walks over and does something completely unexpected. He puts his hand on her back and pulls her close into a tight embrace. She can feel his breath on her ear and his heart beating faintly underneath all that muscle. Her body relaxes into his firm arms.

            “It’s between Smith and us, now. We do this as a team,” he says quietly right above her ear. Her tears spill over as she feels Diggle’s hand on her shoulder and she looks up to see him beside Oliver. He nods in silent assurance.

            “I’m still a little mad at you guys,” she sniffles. Oliver lets out a small chuckle as he pulls back. She steps away feeling a little unsettled.

            “We’ll deal,” Diggle replies. “But one more question.”

            Something in his voice makes both Oliver and Felicity look at him with curiosity. His arms are crossed and he wears a slight frown.

            “So who was he? The guy that caught you.”

            Felicity freezes.

            “You didn’t think we wouldn’t notice some guy in blue flying to your rescue, did you?” John asks wryly. Oliver says nothing and just watches for her reaction. Her palms start to sweat and she claps them together and pairs the action with a shrug.

            “Beats me. I was kind of preoccupied with the falling and he sort of just snatched me out of the air. I didn’t even realize he was flying until later, which you know,” Felicity imitates the sounds of an explosion as her hand pops open beside her head to help them visualize a bomb going off, “mind blown. He, uh, flew off after he got me to safety.”

            Diggle looks at Oliver. “Have you heard of anything like this? I’ve seen a lot during my Army years and with you, but this…is a whole ‘nother level.”

            Oliver clears his throat, “I may have found out about it through Amanda Waller awhile back.”

            Felicity whips her head to look at him, “You _know_ Superman?” She winces when she sees John crossing his arms again, staring down at her.

            “Superman?” he says.

            “That’s, uh, what I call him in my head,” she stammers pointing to her temple. “Because he’s super….for saving me from certain death. I tend to give people nicknames, because, uh, that’s what I do,” She says very quickly and clicks her tongue. At the same time she lets out an inward groan. She really has to get better at this.

            “No, I don’t know him,” Oliver says, giving Felicity an odd look and then turns to John, “But I do know that there are a lot of things that A.R.G.U.S. tries to hide – things that are bound to come to light soon enough.”

            Felicity’s heart pounds. He knows. Oliver Queen knows about aliens, x-ray visions, and flying. He’s known all along and she wants to punch him, shake his shoulders and scream in his face, _“How could you not tell us about the freaking aliens in outer space?”_ But she can’t, because he doesn’t know that she knows that he knows.

            “I wasn’t aware that you had much history with A.R.G.U.S., Oliver,” Diggle says with suspicion. Felicity knows that Dig’s been meaning to ask Oliver this for awhile ever since Waller tried to nuke Starling City. But Oliver gives him that _We’re not going to do this right now_ look. It feels a little weird for Felicity to not be the recipient of that.

            “Can we focus here?” he says. He shifts to face Felicity. “So what now? Are you coming back?”  

            “No. I still have things to do at Wayne Enterprises,” she starts, bracing herself as she sees Oliver’s eyes narrow.

            “They put you in danger. The whole thing with Smith started with them. They should have gone to the police or-”

            “I wasn’t very forthcoming with them either when it came to Smith. It’s not their fault. Besides, I really need to see this through.” Felicity says. “This is important to me.”

            Diggle sighs while Oliver remains quiet.

            “Okay, then we’ll work on Smith from our end. Do you have anything that can help us? A copy of those texts could –”

            “No,” she says. They look at her.

            “If we’re going to go after Smith together, we do it my way,” she continues.

            To her surprise, Oliver nods, “Okay.”

            She steps back, “Wow. Really? Because I thought you would get all Hulk about it.”

            “Felicity,” Oliver says in that exasperated tone. She nods and clears her throat.

            “Right. I need to step back and look at this another way. But until I do, don’t do anything. I’ll let you know when I find out more,” Felicity explains. She knows they don’t like the idea of doing nothing, but she can’t help but feel touched, when they nod and don’t argue. For the first time, she feels like she’s running point.

            “Thank you,” Felicity says softly. They grin at her and then John looks down at his watch.

            “We should get going. Lyla-”

            “Go,” she orders. John gives her a pat on the shoulder and then turns to go. Oliver gives him a look so he nods and leaves the suite alone. Felicity suddenly feels uncomfortable and she wraps her arms around herself again. His grin doesn’t make her feel at ease.

            “You’re getting good at bossing people around,” he says lightly. She gives him a small smile.

            “I guess I learned from the best,” she replies and he chuckles. But then as the sound of it fades away, his gaze falls to the ground. Then it snaps back up with resolve.

            “Listen. I’m sorry. I know that the night didn’t…turn out the way you wanted it to.” Felicity’s heart skips a beat when she thinks about Nick and the fact that Oliver had seen them…She had been so busy being angry at them for interrupting a private moment that she hadn’t thought about the fact that the man she loved saw her kissing another man.

            “It’s okay. I know you guys were just worried about me.”

            Oliver nods and she thinks this is the end of it, but then he speaks up again, “How is he?”

            Felicity blinks, “Are you asking me how he’s doing or are you asking me about his sexual prowess? Because you two didn’t let me find out…and I wouldn’t report to you about it even if we did have sex, because that’s just… _weird._ ”

            “ _Felicity_. _No_ , that is not what I meant. I meant, is he a good guy?” Oliver looks like he wants to be anywhere but here but he still wants his question answered. Her eyes soften as she looks at him.

            “He’s a great guy. He reminded me what it was like before Arrow,” she says and a shadow crosses Oliver’s face.

            “Good,” he says softly. Oliver puts his hand on her shoulder and then is about to back away to leave.

            “But I’ve changed. I can’t go back to normal.”

            Oliver’s eyes exude pain and guilt plainly enough for her to see.

            “Oliver, when I’m away from you and what you do, I don’t magically become this normal girl again with a normal life. Even without you, I would be out there helping people the way you showed me how. And I realized that this means that people in my life could get hurt because of _me_. Like my mom. Or Nick. Or whoever else I choose to date,” Felicity says.

            He shuts his eyes and grimaces, “This isn’t what I wanted for you.”

            “What do you want for me?” she asks.

            Oliver steps closer to her to lightly touch the side of her face. She swallows and breathes in a little shallowly.

            “I want you to be happy,” he whispers and gently brings his forehead down to meet hers. They stand like that for a split second before he pulls back and walks away.

 

 

            “While that was certainly a creative way to get Superman to like you, we’d prefer if you don’t jump off buildings in the future. We wouldn’t want you to have to file an incident report,” Gordon says, her tone of voice light but her eyes say something different. Felicity bites her bottom lip.

            “Right. I’m sorry,” she replies. Lucius rests his hand on the back of Gordon’s chair with a frown.

            “Tell us the whole story, please.”

            So Felicity tells them everything down to the very last detail while carefully observing them for any reactions. Their expressions are blank throughout her entire story and when she finishes Gordon clasps her hands together on her lap.

            “Okay, we can only bring down Smith if we know his aim,” she says.

            “The microprocessors,” Felicity says with determination.

            “We’ll have to figure out what he’s using them for,” Gordon shoots back.

            “Is he selling them or-” Felicity starts.

            “Or is he planning on using them for himself?” Gordon finishes.

            “I can check NSA and CIA chatter -” Felicity starts moving towards her desk.

            “For any countries on the market for microprocessors. Good, and I’ll –” Gordon says with her hands on her wheels. Lucius rolls his eyes and clears his throat.

            “Ladies! Before we commence with the hacking, I have an invitation for you both,” he interrupts.  The two women turn to face him and he hands them each an ivory envelope with a golden embossing of their names. Felicity breaks open the red seal to find a matching ivory card that reads:

 

_WAYNE ENTERPRISES_

_Cordially invites you to attend_

_The 22 nd Annual Banquet in Celebration of Thomas Wayne _

_Saturday May 31, 2014_

_Cocktails at 6:00 PM_

_Dinner at 7:00 PM_

_Wayne Manor_

_1007 Mountain Drive,_

_Gotham City_

            Gordon instantly groans, “Godfrey is going to be at this thing, isn’t he? He’s going to be snooping around, asking stupid questions about ORACLE.”

            Lucius shoots her an exasperated look, “Nevertheless, I expect you to be there.”

            “This is a party?” Felicity asks turning over the card only to see a blank back.

            “Yes. Bruce Wayne holds it every year for the employees of Wayne Enterprises,” Lucius explains. Felicity crinkles her nose in confusion.

            “But I thought you were…”

            “Mr. Wayne is the owner of the company. I just run it,” he says. At this, Gordon rolls her eyes.

            “Yes, _just,_ ” she says with a hint of pride. He smiles at her and then glances at Felicity.

            “It will be a lovely evening,” he says. “I’ll send a car over to you. Just hand the invitation to the guards out front, and they’ll let you in.”

            Felicity nods. Lucius turns to go but then stops in his tracks. He points his index finger up as if he remembered something. He grabs a sheet of paper from Gordon’s desk and hands Felicity the form. She frowns as she reads the heading.

            “Wait. I really have to fill out an incident report?” she says looking up at them. Lucius only winks and then drapes his suit jacket over the crook of his arm. He leaves, humming an annoyingly impish tune.

            “Wow, I guess I’ll just…write this. By hand,” she mutters about to head for her desk, but Gordon clears her throat. Felicity stops to look at her, flapping the form a few times.

            “Smoak, I just want to let you know that you can trust us. Lucius and I,” she says, her fingers lightly tapping on her armrest.

            “I know,” Felicity replies uncertainly. Gordon wheels forward.

            “I understand that you have your people in Starling City, but we can be a team too.”

            Felicity has no idea what to say. She enjoys working with Lucius and Gordon, but she has always seen them as her employers. They’re people with secret knowledge who give her access to it when they deem it appropriate. She respects them and trusts their discernment, but it’s not quite a team.

            “Okay,” she says not wanting to be unappreciative. Then she pauses before asking a question that’s been on her mind ever since she’s met Gordon, “Can I ask, what made you start all this?” 

            Gordon’s fingers come to a sudden stop. With her elbow propped on her armrest, she lowers her chin so that it can rest in her hand. Her red curls fall gently forward over her shoulder. Her eyes become thoughtful.

            “I was young. I wanted to change the world and kickass while I was at it. So I put on a suit, called myself Batgirl, and fought bad guys in Gotham,” she says. Felicity’s eyes widen.

            “You were Batman’s protégée?” Then she frowns, “Batman has protégées?”

            Gordon smirks, “Smoak, stop interrupting. I’m only trying to tell you my life story here. My father was, is, Gotham City’s police commissioner, and worked closely with Batman. I wanted to be a cop but my father wouldn’t have it. So…next best thing. Batgirl was born. But then I was shot. I couldn’t exactly swing off buildings and lampposts anymore, so I used my library science degree to help others. Then Lucius and I talked one day and Project ORACLE came about.”

            “Wow, I’m sorry,” Felicity replies softly but the woman shakes her head.

            “Don’t be. It was a different path than I had expected, but just as worthwhile. Maybe more.”

            Felicity clears her throat, “Well, I guess I was referring more to the getting shot part.”

            Barbara Gordon smiles at this, her head lifting again.

            “I did good picking you.”

            Felicity can’t help but blush and feels the corner of her lips turning up. A compliment coming from Gordon feels way different than when Oliver or Diggle pays her one. She opens her mouth to speak but Gordon wheels herself around, her back facing her.

            “I hope you have a lucky dress, Smoak, because you’re going to need one to get through this party.”

 

 

            Felicity gazes out the window as the car Lucius had sent pulls up to the circle driveway of Wayne Manor. Suddenly the Queen Mansion seems diminutive and she gulps. A man dressed in a black suit with white gloves comes to her door and opens it for her with a respectful nod. She steps out careful not to get her midnight blue gown caught on anything. The breeze chills her open back and her skin above her swooping neckline. Felicity gingerly touches her hair, curled and one side pulled back with a silver pin, to make sure things are still in place.

            When she is stopped at the entrance, she pulls out her invitation from her clutch and is granted access after the guard checks the guest list on his tablet. There are men posted every few feet to guide guests into the ballroom. She suspects though that they’re also there to keep the curious ones from wandering. The portraits of each Wayne are grand and stately, but feel somewhat cold and imposing. Everything about this place makes Felicity feel small and unimportant.

            She finally comes across a man dressed in a tuxedo and a bow tie. He is much older, his lean tall frame, balding hair and his thin mustache are his distinguishable features.

            “Welcome. Please come in,” he says in a crisp, British accent.

            “Thank you,” Felicity breathes at the sight of the ballroom. The impossibly high ceiling, the countless chandeliers, the row of long stained glass windows on either stone walls and the shiny marbled floor make her mouth dry. A string quartet plays a piece that can still be heard comfortably over the chatter of the crowd. There are at least over two hundred guests all dressed in their very best. She can see the glints of the many jewels the woman have decided to don. The wait staff make their rounds with their trays of drinks.

            “First time at Wayne Manor, ma’am?” the British man asks.

            “Yes, it’s beautiful,” she says, her mouth still open. He gives her a warm smile at her appreciation. He gestures towards the crowd.

            “Well, I do hope you have a wonderful evening,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. So she roams around the room, feeling hopelessly out of place. She plucks a glass off a waiter’s tray and sips some champagne.

            She spots Lucius near the center of the wide floor but he’s surrounded by at least five other guests. They all seem imperious and regal and she gently touches the back of her neck. Maybe when he’s less preoccupied, she’ll say hello.

            “People love Lucius Fox,” a voice says from behind her. Before she can turn, a tall man comes around her as he picks a glass from a passing waiter. Once he has the glass in his hand, he smiles at Felicity. She smothers a small gasp before it can escape her lips.

            Now Felicity has no problem ogling at good looking men. She’s stared at Oliver countless times for one, but this man, who is probably nearing the tail end of his forties, makes her entire body flush. The dark, luscious hair peppered with silver, the green eyes with the slight wrinkles at the corners, and a strong, straight nose are all lovely features. But it’s the confidence in which he flashes her a smile that makes her knees weak. When she was younger, she had always had a thing for Cary Grant from the old black and white movies. This man carries the same debonair spirit. He takes a sip from his glass and she can’t look away from the bob of his Adam’s apple.

            “He’s fair. He’s decent. I can’t stand him,” he says glancing at Lucius over the top edge of his glass. She blinks.

            “Oh,” she says. He chuckles.

            “Oh God, you probably love him too. I just haven’t seen you at one of these functions before, so I figured maybe he didn’t win you over yet. But it seems he has,” he says, raising his glass slightly. She smiles.

            “Unfortunately for you, yes, he has.”

            He puts out his hand and she shakes it, “My name is Jonas Godfrey. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss…”

            “Smoak. Felicity Smoak. It’s nice to meet you too,” she says and then frowns, “Godfrey, why does that name sound familiar?”

            He frowns as well, examining her as if he’s trying to place her. “I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”

            “No, I definitely would have remembered meeting you,” she mutters and then turns completely red at what she said. Then she looks up when she sees Gordon wheeling their way while Jonas Godfrey laughs in amusement.

            “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asks.

            “Always a bad thing, Godfrey,” Gordon replies for her with a clipped voice. The genuine smile falls from his face and a resigned and exasperated look replaces it.

            “Hello, Babs. Have you had the pleasure of meeting Miss Smoak?” he asks gesturing to Felicity.

            “Why yes considering she works directly under me in the Applied Sciences Division,” she replies sweetly. Godfrey stiffens right away and looks at Felicity. Then he gives her another smile.

            “My apologies, Miss Smoak. Babs must have tucked you away in the basement somewhere because as head of Applied Sciences, I’ve never seen you much less hired you,” he says. Felicity backs off in confusion. The muted anger is not directed towards her but towards Gordon and he still gives her smile.

            “Uh, what? You’re head of –”

            “No matter. I assume you’re working on Project ORACLE then,” he says looking at Gordon. She scoffs.

            “Here we go again. As long as Lucius is here, you will _never_ find out what we’re working on, you egotistical –” she starts, her eyes flashing.

            “Idiot. Neanderthal. Oh, fool. There’s a classic,” a woman says from behind. They all turn to see a gorgeous brunette in a simple, elegant black gown. The first thing Felicity notices is the rock she’s wearing on her ring finger of her left hand. “I like to call him numbskull myself sometimes. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it, dear?”

            Gordon beams when she sees the woman. “Clara, it’s wonderful to see you. I wish I could say the same for your husband,” she says as Clara bends down to give her a peck on the cheek.

            Clara then stands up to give her husband a kiss as well and then wipes the lipstick stain off his cheek. He’s completely enamored and the thoughts of ORACLE seem to be forgotten. She pulls him away and then Felicity catches her winking at both her and Gordon. Felicity frowns at Gordon.

            “Uh, what’s the story? He’s head of Applied Sciences?”

            “He’s also a childhood friend, and Clara was in the same cohort as me in school for library sciences,” Gordon says. “Listen, we can talk about this later. For now, just enjoy yourself.”

            At this moment, a murmur makes its way around the crowd and heads turn towards the entrance of the ballroom.  A dark haired man stands there in a sleek suit with a woman on each arm. His broad shoulders add to the image of confidence and smugness. He walks through the crowd and the people move out of the way. Then he joins Lucius’ group and people get back to their conversations.

            “Wow, Bruce Wayne. Never thought I’d ever see him up close,” comments Felicity. Gordon groans.

            “Don’t tell me you’re star struck. You work with Oliver Queen, for Pete’s sake,” she says. Felicity keeps staring at the multi-billionaire.

            “Yeah, but there’s Oliver Queen, and then there’s _Bruce_ _Wayne_ ,” she murmurs.

            Gordon just chuckles and shakes her head. Wayne saunters around the room and as he makes small talk, Felicity sees that there’s always a hint of smirk across his lips. While the guests seem to appreciate his presence, they seem a little taken aback afterwards. The girls on his arms throw their heads back in laughter at everything he says and she fears one of them will get a whiplash. A sense of familiarity strikes her. Oliver’s billionaire persona faded away throughout the past year and now that he’s no longer a billionaire, it’s nearly gone. Instead, he only has traces of charm that he’ll pull out when necessary. Still, she can recognize a disguise when she sees one, she just doesn’t know what Wayne is hiding.

            Wayne eventually makes his way over to Felicity and Gordon and nods his greeting.

            “Barbara, how are you?” he asks with a warm smile. Felicity catches the odd tick at the corner of his lips when he greets Gordon.

            “Mr. Wayne, I’m well. So good of you to show up to your own party, sir. It’s certainly a marked improvement from last year,”

            “Yes, well, I’m turning over a new leaf,” he replies. Gordon just glances at the two women and grins.

            “Right. This is Felicity Smoak. She’s our new employee in Applied Sciences. She’s helping Lucius and I for Project ORACLE,” Gordon introduces Felicity. Felicity puts out her hand but he looks at her strangely before finally shaking it. The handshake is incredibly firm and she resists the temptation to flex her hand to ease the discomfort afterwards.

            “Good to meet you, Miss Smoak,” he says.

            “Oh please, call me Felicity,” she says. Something about the handshake makes her think she doesn’t want to get on his bad side.

            “And how is our top-secret, classified project going?” Wayne asks with the slightest snort. “A lot of money going through that basement, Gordon.”

            “Yes, Godfrey certainly has told me that only a hundred times. It’s going well. If only we had a little more…moral support,” Gordon trails off.

            “I gave the okay because Lucius was very insistent. I just provide the funds, Barbara,” he replies with a hard edge to his tone, which is an odd switch from suave and charm. “Ladies.”

            Wayne bows slightly and then turns on his feet to greet the next group of guests. The realization dawns fairly quickly as Felicity glances at Gordon, who is trying to hide her frustration.

            “Prickly attitude, huh?” Felicity says in a low voice.

            Gordon glances up at her, but the young woman stares after him and then continues, “That’s definitely an understatement. He’s kind of an asshat.”

            Gordon lets out a snort, “Did you just call Batman an asshat?”

            Felicity just shrugs while her boss shakes her head.

            “Whatever you do, don’t let him hear you say that,” the woman kindly advises.

            “Is it just part of the disguise?” Felicity asks quietly.

            Gordon laughs and then looks up at her. “What do you think?”

            She ponders a bit and then narrows her eyes at Gordon, “Damn it! He’s an ass both ways, isn’t he? I’m _not_ recruiting him, Gordon.”

 

 

            When the League of Assassins attacks the party, there is no warning, which makes sense considering these people are known for their ninja-like behavior. But the way the assassins kick their way in through the large stained glass windows, the glass shattering and falling to the ground shocking everyone, seems somewhat obnoxious to Felicity. Maybe they picked up pointers from Slade’s men. But she realizes that there’s no time for these thoughts when Gordon grabs her hand and flings her forward towards the exit, while she pushes a button on her chair that allows her to zoom ahead.

            “Whoa, I didn’t know you could do that,” Felicity sputters. Gordon whips her head back.

            “Shut up, Smoak, and run!” the woman bellows as her hair flies up around her.

            So Felicity books it out of the ballroom, trying very hard not to trip and fall in the middle of this stampede. Following just behind Gordon makes things a little easier as the woman makes a pathway for her with her chair. She hears muffled grunts and the sounds of moving feet from the ballroom. Just then a ninja star is hurled through the air and nicks the stem of an incredibly large chandelier just above Felicity, Gordon, and the other guests fleeing with them. Felicity gasps and shoves the back of Gordon’s chair out of the way.

            Felicity lands on the ground and winces at the impact. She hears the screams of the guests ringing in her ear as she tries to push herself up from the ground. That’s when she hears a low voice.

            “Kill as many as you can. Let him witness the results of his transgressions against the league,” a familiar voice says. But the woman disappears and Felicity can only see the flash of her dark curls. In her stead are six men dressed in dark clothing.

            “G-Gordon!” she yells out, getting to her feet. Gordon’s already ready for them, however, and has a long golden metal curved rod in her hands, which looks suspiciously like a part from the chandelier. Her boss wheels right in front of Felicity, blocking her from the assassins.

            “No, what are you doing?” Felicity groans. 

            “Smoak, run!”

            Felicity glances down the grand winding staircase and then looks around in a panic. How the hell did Gordon even get up here in the first place? Where are the ramps? She tries to calculate to see if she’d be able to lift Gordon from the chair and carry her down, but she knows there’s no way. The assassins close in on Gordon and she swings the rod expertly in the air, hitting them in the ribs, wrists, and legs.

            Felicity scrambles to the chandelier to grab a rod, but they’re all stuck. So she scoops up a handful of crystals and chucks it in the face of one assassin who snuck in behind her. The assassin grunts and she uses that opportunity to push him down the stairs.  She swirls back to help Gordon, but the assassins are piled up at the foot of her chair. Gordon’s left with just two.

            Then what Felicity sees makes her jaw drop open. Gordon shifts back with a grunt on her chair and the momentum makes the front part of the chair pop up from the ground.  She crashes the front part into one of the assassin’s legs, making him buckle, and at the same time, flings her head back to crash skulls with the assassin who has his arms around her neck, trying to choke her. Both of the assassins go down as Gordon’s chair touches back down to the carpet with dramatic flair.  The guests are nearly gone now, and it’s just them two at the top of the staircase.

            “Gordon, where are the ramps? We have to get you down!” she yells breathlessly. But before Gordon can answer, Nyssa al Ghul glides down from who knows where with her posse of assassins and lands with a quiet yet resounding thud in front of them.

            “Nyssa! What the hell are you doing?” Felicity yells fiercely.

            “You. You get around, don’t you, MIT girl?” she says. Then she gives her men a nod and they move towards them. Gordon puts her arm out in front of Felicity, trying to get her to back away, but she doesn’t move.

            Then she sees what looks like a bunch of ninja-stars slicing through the air, flying so quickly that she can hear the whip of wind. Her heart jumps when she realizes that the stars are actually in the shape of a bat. But Felicity doesn’t even see or hear him swing down and land. Instead, she sees the red hair billowing out in the air contrasted with a huge mass of black as Gordon is scooped out of her chair and carried down the staircase.

            “No! Smoak! You have to save Smoak!” she hears Gordon yell, the sound of her outcries getting further and further away as Batman moves her out to safety.

            The assassins are all on the ground with a Batman-star sticking out of them, but it looks like none of the injuries are fatal. So Nyssa and Felicity stare at one another.

            “Where is Sara, Nyssa? She wouldn’t want you to do this,” Felicity says, trying her best to keep her voice steady. Nyssa steps forward and gently wraps her fingers around her neck. She applies very little pressure, but the threat is clear. Felicity keeps her hands at her sides, however, and just chooses to glare.

            “What do you know of Sara really? What do you know of her desires, her wants?” Nyssa drawls, the deep voice sending a chill up Felicity’s spine.

            “I know that she cares for you,” Felicity whispers but then gasps as the pressure on her throat gets tighter.

            “ _Cares_ for me?” she hisses. Felicity finally puts both hands on Nyssa’s hand and tries to pry the fingers off her.

            “W-why?” she chokes out. Nyssa throws a glance over her shoulder.

            “Batman stole something from me. Something of great worth. I’m sending him a message,” Nyssa snarls. Felicity’s eyes shifts up and finds a rather large bat hanging from the ceiling, ready to drop. She grins at Nyssa and enjoys the flash of confusion on the woman’s face. Batman drops straight down with a menacing whoosh and tackles Nyssa when he makes contact. Felicity is thrown off balance and swings her arms about to regain it, only to pitch forward. She finds herself rolling down the carpeted stairs while wheezing at the same time. Every time her body makes impact with a hard surface, she grunts. Finally she comes to a stop and she lies there, draped over the middle stairs, feeling completely shattered.

            With shuddering gasps, Felicity brings herself up on all fours.

            “They don’t pay me enough for this,” she croaks. She hears the two fighting at the top but then the sounds fade away. After five minutes and regaining her strength, as she attempts to stand up from crawling position, Felicity screams as a dark mass glides towards her and slams her against the wall.

            “Who are you?” Batman roars with a deep mechanical voice that makes her shake.

            “What?” she gasps, completely in shock.

            “Who are you? How do you know her? What connection do you have with Ra’s al Ghul?” he roars again, slamming his fists down besides her head.

            “Ra’s al Ghul?” Felicity says in utter confusion and panic. “What?”

            Batman backs away a couple of feet and then throws several Bat-stars that narrowly miss her body. A scream doesn’t make it out of her throat as she hears the metal edges hit the wall.  

            “TALK!”

            Still trembling, a hot rage shoots up in her as she sees the metal bats sticking out of the wall out of the corner of her eye. She slowly faces Batman and she grits her teeth so tight, she hopes she doesn’t grind a tooth out.

            “Did you just throw Bat-stars at me?” she asks, her voice completely wound up tight. “Did you just fucking throw what can constitute as sharp knives at _me_ , Felicity Smoak?”

            He swoops in close, his masked face right up against hers and she can see the snarl of his lips and teeth.

            “Don’t mess with me. How do you know Nyssa al Ghul?”

            “You’re _insane_ ,” she shoots back, parting her hot pink lips to bare her teeth as well. “You do anything like that again, Wayne, and I’ll hack up your ass until you’re dirt poor, sitting on your butt, going ice-fishing in the middle of freaking Antarctica. I hope you like penguins, Wayne. _You_ don’t mess with me, buddy.”

            At the mention of penguins, Batman roars and grabs her wrists. He pulls them up and pins them down up against the wall besides her head. The pressure starts to get tight, but she doesn’t show her pain. Only the sounds of their breaths can be heard in the now dark open room as they glare at each other.

            “Are you threatening me?” he asks quietly.

            “You bet your ass I am, you…numbskull,” she says.

            After a beat, Batman pulls her up the stairs but she drags her heels, screaming and yanking her arm this way and that. When she loses her balance again, she’s about to topple backwards over the edge of the top stair and her heart nearly stops as she feels gravity about to do its job. However, his strong arms catch her. At this moment, she feels a prick of a needle on the side of her neck. As her vision blurs, it takes all of Felicity's energy and determination to spit out one last thing before her world turns dark.

            “You son of a bitch."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the love! WARNING: No Oliver in this chapter. I'm sorry, I really tried but I couldn't without interrupting the flow of the story. But I promise, more olicity scenes to come! 
> 
> I have to admit this chapter was tough, guys. Aghhh! :)

            Felicity opens her eyes. It takes a few blinks before she realizes she’s not lying in bed in her apartment or her hotel room. She winces at the sharp pain that goes through her head when she tries to move, so she puts her head back down onto the cool metal surface. Her eyes scan her odd surroundings and she’s reminded of where she used to spend her nights in Starling City. It’s cavernous and dim, the only light coming from the massive computer screen towering above her. Bringing one hand to her temple, she sits up only to see Batman standing in front of the screen.

            Anger and panic seize her and she tries to swing her legs over the edge of what looks like a metal table. Her legs can’t hold her weight however and she falls back. Felicity catches herself by gripping the table behind her with one hand.  

            “It’ll be about ten minutes before the effects wear off,” he says in his own voice, impossibly husky and somewhat deep. Felicity licks her lips, feeling parched.

            “You drugged me,” she croaks.

            “I did what was necessary.”

            She winces at another bolt of pain.

            “You thought it necessary to drug me?”

            He crosses his arms.

            “You made a threat,” he replies.

            “You threw sharp things at me! What did you expect me to do?” she grinds out, glaring daggers at the costumed man.

            “Not call him a numbskull, for one,” a familiar female voice says from behind. Gordon, Lucius, and the British man from the party come down a pathway to join them at the center of the cave.

            “Alfred was listening on comms, but I still can’t believe it. Did she really call you that?” Gordon wheels herself over to Batman’s side, with a playful smile on her face. With the mask, Felicity can barely see any expression, but the flick of the eyes betrays a hint of annoyance.

            “Believe me, Miss Gordon. The young lady certainly has a way with words. She used the loveliest of phrases. Would you like a copy of the recording?” the British man asks with the tiniest turn up of his lips. Gordon gapes at him.

            “I didn’t know you recorded stuff on comms,” she says.

            “I don’t usually but I thought it might prove to be useful on a rainy day when he’s being especially difficult,” he says. Batman turns towards him with a growl.

            “Alfred-”

            “Excuse me!” Felicity yells in frustration. “Can someone explain to me what’s going on? Where are we? And why did you attack me?”

            Lucius Fox steps forward and places his hand on hers. His warm smile helps her feel more at ease in this strange environment. The concern he shows feels like a complete contrast to the treatment she had received only a few hours ago.

            “I’m sorry, Felicity. It seems Mr. Wayne misunderstood your intentions due to your connection with Nyssa al Ghul,” Lucius glances over his shoulder to look at Batman and shakes his head. Felicity follows the gaze to glare at him. “We are underneath Wayne Manor. This is the base of operations for Mr. Wayne or otherwise known as –”

            “Batman,” Felicity finishes in a cold voice still staring at him. “You had no right to do that to me. I wasn’t hurting anyone. I was trying to help Gordon."

            “If you had talked, I wouldn’t have had to resort to such extreme measures,” he says.

            Lucius looks furious and is about to say something, but the man called Alfred beats him to it.

            “I’ve said it once, Master Wayne, and I’ll say it again. Manners will go a long way.”

            Batman just stays silent but the tension remains.

            “You know, you might get your answers more quickly if you don’t come off as an ass. Which I guess is basically what he just said,” Felicity mutters jerking her thumb at Alfred. 

            “Where _did_ you find her?” Alfred asks quietly as he hands Felicity a glass of water. She murmurs her thanks with a small smile.

            “Starling City, if you can believe it,” Gordon replies with pride. Then she turns to Batman and asks in a more serious tone, “What’s going on, Bruce? Why did they attack you?”

            Batman turns to the massive screen as it replays the scenes from the night. The scenes are from the ballroom when everyone else had cleared out and he’s fighting a group of at least ten assassins. The power in his punch, the way he uses everything as a tool even his cape, make her look over at the back of Batman with some awe.

            “They were sending me a message,” he says while he uses the controls to skip forward or skip back.

            “You stole something from her. What was it?” Felicity asks while squinting at the screen. Everyone turns to her and then they look at Batman.

            “Nyssa got a little chatty,” she admits.

            “A key. A computer code. The league stole it from a black operations unit while it was being transferred to one of the highest security military bases,” he replies.

            “What does the code open?” Gordon asks.

            Batman hits a button on the controls and a picture of a nuclear missile pops up, rotating so that the viewer can see all angles. The rest of the group simultaneously lets out a sigh or a groan of resignation and dread. Gordon rubs her eyes.

            “So you’re saying the league wanted to nuke some place? Why would they want to do that?” Felicity asks walking closer with steadier legs. Lucius offers his arm for support and she gratefully accepts.

            “Master Wayne believes that the league was hired to steal this code. Someone who wanted access to a nuclear missile,” Alfred says with tired eyes.

            “There’s another piece to the problem. The missile only works with the code and a pack of very high powered microprocessors, which is very rare,” Batman says, pulling up another picture.

            At the word “microprocessors”, Felicity, Lucius, and Gordon all turn to look at one another. Gordon curses under her breath.

            “Oh God, _Smith_. That’s – that’s what he wanted all along,” breathes Felicity, her knees starting to buckle. Lucius’ grip on her tightens. Batman turns to her.

            “But why would Smith want a missile? What would be his motive for attacking a city?” Batman says.

            The entire group is silent for a long time. Felicity runs her hand through her hair and takes in a deep breath. Then she frowns.

            “No, the question is…why me? Why would he attack me?” she asks. Batman and Alfred look up while Gordon remains deep in thought. Finally, she raises her head and wheels over to the controls. She pulls up the news story about Felicity jumping off the Daily Planet building. Felicity bites her bottom lip. One can only see the blonde hair and the bright clothes, a small figure tumbling helplessly in the air and then another figure zooming towards her. It feels strange to see this at another angle and she feels sick at how close to death she actually was.

            “You said that Smith was trying to confirm something. He wanted to confirm if you knew Superman,” Lucius says slowly as they watch Superman catch Felicity in his arms.

            “He knows,” Felicity says quietly. “He knows about what we’re doing here. About the Justice League.”

            Another silence and then –

            “Does anyone care to explain what a Justice League is?” Alfred speaks up. There are sidelong glances all around until Batman brings his fist down hard on the desk, startling everyone.

            “It’s dangerous and foolish, and it ends here,” he says, his voice getting to another level of husky.

            “It’s what this country needs,” Gordon says, gripping her armrests tight. “You have no right to say whether the league is finished or not, Bruce. Even if you are Batman.”

            “You’re right. Batman has no right, but Bruce Wayne does. I’m terminating Project ORACLE, effective immediately,” Batman snarls. Lucius opens his mouth to speak but Gordon charges forward so that she’s right in front of the caped crusader.

            “Even if I have to do this in my own apartment, I _will_ do it. You think I need your fancy computers and your money? You can’t stop me,” Gordon says, her voice rising.

            “You _will_ stop. You almost got _her_ killed with your irresponsibility. If something happens to her, would you be able to live with yourself?” he hisses, stabbing his finger in the air towards Felicity.

            “Hey, don’t bring me in –” she starts.

            “Are you sure you’re talking about me here?” Gordon asks in a firm voice. The air immediately freezes around them at her words. Felicity glances at everyone, but both Alfred and Lucius have a stricken look on their faces. It’s hard to see Wayne’s expression, but something ominous radiates from him. Gordon’s countenance is steely but she senses a hint of care and concern.

            “Get out,” Batman says. Without a word, Gordon just takes in a deep breath and wheels herself away, about to leave. Then when she comes to a strange glass display case that Felicity hadn’t noticed until now, she stops in front of it. A red and green suit hangs inside of the case and she can just barely make out an insignia consisting of a letter “R” with a circle around it. Gordon looks up at it, gently touches the glass near the bottom with one hand, and then glances over her shoulder before she moves on.

            Before she can make it too far, Alfred calls out to Gordon in a gentle tone.

            “Miss Gordon, before you go. I thought you would like to know, Richard is back from Blüdhaven,” he says. Gordon’s hands falter and her chair comes to a stop. Still she says nothing and after a few seconds, she leaves the cave. Lucius gives a silent nod to both Alfred and Wayne and follows Gordon out, leaving Felicity alone with them.

            Felicity rounds on Batman as soon as her employers leave, “What is your problem?”

            “You are in over your head,” he replies turning back to his controls, fiddling with the buttons.

            “Look I’m getting a lone wolf vibe from you, which is fine. If you don’t want to join, don’t join. You don’t seem like a team player anyway and I wouldn’t mind not seeing you ever again. But don’t pull the plug on this,” Felicity says.

            “She’s always been too idealistic. It would never work – too many unknowns and all that power, it would be chaos,” Batman replies not bothering to look at her. Alfred clears his throat.

            “My, you’re just a little ray of sunshine, aren’t you?” he says with a slight sniff.

            “Alfred, if you have a problem –”

            “Master Wayne, would it kill you if you, for once, did not see the very worst in people?” Alfred asks. Batman frowns as he adjusts his settings on his computer.

            “Seeing the worst in people is how I’ve survived this long,” he says. Suddenly Felicity feels pity for this man. She watches him as he puts both hands on the top of the chair in front of the screen. The way his shoulders slope down and the fatigue in his voice make her wonder how much of his soul he gave to be a knight for his city.

            “Let us show you what can happen when you see good in people, Wayne. Give us a chance to show you,” Felicity says, her voice soft. Alfred looks at her, a little taken aback by her earnestness and follows her gaze to Batman, with a flicker of hope and pain. Still, the man doesn’t turn to look at her.

            “Alfred will show you the way out,” he says.

 

 

            “I thought I might find you here,” Felicity says as she walks into their base at Wayne Enterprises. She had changed out of her evening gown into more comfortable jeans and a T-shirt. She stands beside Gordon, who is staring at her blank computer screen, biting the edge of her thumb. She’s still in her dress, but she has Lucius’ jacket draped over her shoulders.

            Gordon sighs and hangs her head back.

            “He drives me insane,” Gordon says. Felicity nods.

            “Yup. He definitely has that quality,” she says.

            “You know, he never wanted me to wear the bat insignia to begin with. Did you know that?”

            “What changed his mind?” Felicity asks. Gordon chuckles humorlessly.

            “I didn’t let him stop me. So he didn’t really have a choice. He let me believe that he disapproved but gave me better equipment secretly through Robin, that’s his sidekick, or was his sidekick. Anyway, he did it so that I wouldn’t get myself killed. Then I eventually found out and I joined the Bat family.”

            Felicity frowns, “Bat family? There are more of you out there?”

            The woman shakes her head, her red hair slightly limp from all the action from the party.

            “It’s complicated.”

            “So what are you going to do? If he terminates the project…” Felicity trails off.

            “Do what I normally do and not give a damn,” Gordon answers. “I’d understand if you’d want to go back to Starling City. I wouldn’t exactly be able to pay you.”

            “Hey, I’m here at two in the morning with you, aren’t I? I have this thing about being loyal to the people I like,” Felicity cracks a smile. Gordon flashes her a grin of appreciation. Then she turns back to her screen as she plays with one of her curls.

            “Smith thinks his only threat to his plan, whatever it is, is the formation of the Justice League. Otherwise why would he target you? You’re the point of contact, bringing everyone together,” Gordon murmurs. Felicity leans against Gordon’s desk and crosses her arms.

            “Technically, I’ve only brought one in so far,” she says.

            “But he knows what we’re up to,” Gordon replies. Felicity arches one eyebrow.

            “So do we keep recruiting? I mean, if he knows what we’re doing…” Felicity says.

            “Yes, we keep recruiting. It looks like we need a Justice League more than ever with a missile halfway in Smith’s hands,” Gordon replies. Felicity nods and claps her hands as if to signify that she’s ready to get back to work.

            “Okay then. Who next?”

            Gordon grins and lets go of her curl, “Let’s switch things up, shall we?”

            She leans over and types quickly on her keyboard. Then with several pings, a group of images and text slide up onto the screen. As tired as she is, Felicity’s eyes get a little wider. A beautiful woman, who is at least Diggle’s size, stares out at her from the screen. But it’s not just the muscles on the woman that makes Felicity blink. She has a tiara resting on the middle of her forehead, and her outfit leaves very little to the imagination with a leathery strapless top with a golden bird that has its wings outstretched. She has on what looks like leather blue shorts that only cover the bare minimum and has a large encompassing silver metal bracelet on each wrist as accessories. Then Felicity squints.

            “Is that a…lasso?”

            Gordon smiles, “Yes. What do you think?”

            “Um,” Felicity says, still staring at the lasso. “Seriously? She lassoes people into submission?”

            Gordon laughs, “I guess you could say that. It’s actually very interesting. If you come in contact with the lasso, you have to speak the truth. It’s sort of like a truth serum or a lie detector in rope form.”

            Felicity blinks several times and tilts her head to the side, “Hey, that’s actually kind of useful. Oliver just pounds the bad guy until he tells the truth. This is much quicker and less…painful. So what’s her story?”

            “Well, her name is Diana, but is also called Wonder Woman. She’s from an island located in the Bermuda Triangle called Themyscira. The island is inhabited by female warriors. No men, whatsoever, on the island. Anyway, she’s here now functioning as sort of like their goodwill ambassador,” Gordon explains with a hint of amusement.

            Felicity puts one hand on her hip and glares at her, “This is your favorite part, isn’t it? The part where you blow my constructs of the world into million different pieces? Gordon, it’s two in the morning. Just tell me, it can’t be as bad as aliens.”

            Gordon grins and pulls out another USB drive to dangle it in front of her employee and friend.

            “Did you ever watch that show, Xena, the Warrior Princess?” she asks sweetly.

            Felicity groans and covers her face.

            “Greek mythology? Are you kidding me?”

 

 

            “No way! I’m not doing it, Gordon. This is crazy,” Felicity says glaring at both Gordon and Lucius while pacing back and forth.  Gordon pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs with exasperation.

            “This is the only way to make contact, Smoak. How many times do I have to tell you?”

            Felicity stops pacing and jabs an index finger towards Gordon, “So the only way to make contact with Wonder Woman is to sneak into an Air Force base during a private _presidential_ speech to a group of pilots by assuming the identity of a junior military officer. Do I _look_ military to you?”

            Gordon rolls her eyes, “You are such a drama queen. You’ll be fine.”

            “Gordon, this is treason. If it’s so easy, you do it.”

            Gordon spreads out both hands to gesture towards her wheelchair. “I would be too memorable.”

            Felicity glances over at Lucius, “He’s an older American male – no offense, Lucius –” Lucius just nods and puts his hand up as if to say he’s not a part of this. “He’ll fit right in with the military. He could be a general or something.”

            “Unfortunately, Lucius Fox is pretty well known for his work with Wayne Enterprises. Look, we know Wonder Woman will be there for security measures. This isn’t like Superman or Batman, we don’t know her civilian identity. We don’t even know if she has one. This is the only way we can approach her,” Gordon responds. Felicity puts a hand out.

            “What about that boyfriend of hers, the pilot? If we ask him to send her a message –”

            “Colonel Trevor is a US Air Force pilot with A.R.G.U.S. connections, and I really don’t want Waller breathing down my neck. Smoak, you can do this. I believe in you,” Gordon says in a serious tone. Felicity stares at her and then rolls her eyes.

            “Stop it,” she says. Gordon leans back and blinks innocently.

            “Stop what?”

            “Stop pretending to be me. You’re using the Felicity voice,” she grumbles.

            “Well, if you’re acting like a grouchy multi-billionaire, it’s only fair,” Gordon smiles.  Felicity hangs her head back and sighs.

            “So how do I do this?”

            “The President is giving a speech because he ordered for the abandonment of three pilots whose planes went down in the Middle East. Tensions are high and he’s trying to ease relations between him and the military. Wonder Woman will be there to make sure things go smoothly as will Colonel Trevor. I’ve built an entire history for you and you’ll be Second Lieutenant Jessica Jones. The credentials check out. You just have to show them your badge, they let you in, sit down, listen to the speech, and try to find a way to talk to Wonder Woman when you can,” Gordon explains.

            “We’ll fly with you and we’ll be about ten miles away from the base. We’ll have you on comms,” Lucius reassures her.

            Felicity nods, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, “Right. It’s going to be fine.”

            “Just try not to cause a national political slash military incident, and you’re good,” Gordon replies.

            Felicity’s eyes fly right back open. Lucius glares at Gordon.

            “Barbara!” Lucius snaps.

            “Sorry. But seriously, don’t.”

            “All right. Felicity, go home. Get some rest. We leave tomorrow,” Lucius sighs.

 

 

            “Second Lieutenant Jones, can you hear me?” a voice says over the airwaves. Felicity fiddles with the tiny earpiece, her hands shaking slightly. She takes in a deep breath.

            “Felicity, you there?” the voice says again.

            “Yes, I’m here,” she hisses.

            “You have to calm down or they’re going to be suspicious,” Gordon says. Felicity clears her throat and tries desperately to look just straight ahead at the officers standing in line before her. The Secret Service agents are up in front of the line, patting down anyone entering the cordoned off area where rows of chairs are set up.  She accidentally looks down and the sight of her wearing an Air Force uniform makes her slightly sick, her face turning wan.

            _Just don’t get arrested, Felicity. Don’t get arrested._

            “You’re almost there. Once you’re in, the hard part is over,” Lucius soothes.

            “You know, if this does work, it won’t necessarily make me feel good about the security of this country,” she whispers when no one’s looking.

            “Oh, you don’t even know the half of it,” Gordon responds. An airman a few feet ahead of her throws a glance at her over his shoulder and she quickly shuts her mouth. Her stomach is churning and she wishes that she could be back in Wayne Manor having a throw down with Batman again.

            The hairs on Felicity’s neck prickle up as she feels someone watching her. Trying not to be too obvious, she checks her surroundings and then swallows a gasp. In the corner of the hangar, a woman robed in a cloak stands tall in the darkness. Felicity can just make out the glint of metal on her forehead. She snaps her eyes ahead when Wonder Woman catches her gaze. Her heart thumps and she feels some relief when the line moves so that she has something to do than just standing there _not_ looking at Wonder Woman.

            But as the line moves, Diana of Themyscira sidles closer and closer, her eye on Felicity and has one hand grazing over her lasso that’s attached to her hip. Felicity turns her head so that her view is slightly blocked.

            “Wonder Woman’s staring at me and she’s touching her lasso,” she whispers. “Am I being made? I’m going to jail, aren’t I?”

            “Smoak, shut up. Just act normal.”

            A secret service agent finally gets to her and her body stiffens as the agent pats her down. She holds her breath as the agent pauses and pats her down a second time. By now, Wonder Woman is only a few feet away pointedly staring at her. Felicity just looks down at the ground wondering if her ears are turning red.

            “Name?” the agent asks.

            “Second Lieutenant Jessica Jones, sir,” she says the way she rehearsed it with Lucius and Gordon in the morning. She holds out her badge that allows her access to the small assembly. Felicity gets a curt nod and she’s led into the cordoned area.

            She can’t help but let out a sigh of relief and whispers, “I’m in.”

            “Good. Take a seat in the back and relax. Once the President makes his speech, you can try to make contact with Wonder Woman,” Gordon responds.

            Felicity makes her way to the back and sits down. There are at least about sixty people in their seats and by the looks of it, the majority of those in uniform don’t look too happy. A young officer takes a seat beside her and she stiffens. When she glances sideways, she realizes that he seems anxious himself and isn’t worried about anyone else around him. Wonder Woman is now busy talking to group of older distinguished gentlemen with a congenial smile on her face. The tension eases from her body and she finally relaxes.

            Once people settle in, there’s a signal and everyone abruptly stands up and those in uniform salute as the President of the United States takes his place behind the podium. Felicity is only a few seconds behind and she’s the last one back in her seat when the president gestures to his audience to sit down.

            “POTUS is starting,” she whispers, fiddling with her earpiece again and then cocks her head and says, “I’ve always wanted to say that.”

            Exhaustion falls over Felicity immediately. After the night at Wayne Manor, she, Gordon, and Lucius spent the next few days and nights planning for this day. She had barely gotten any sleep and she’s feeling the brunt of it now, now that the anxiety has for the most part eased away. She probably should be listening to the President, because well, when else is she going to see him speak live? But the words all converge together in her drowsiness.

            What snaps her back into focus is an odd vibration. She looks down to see a pair of legs next to her trembling severely. Her eyes follow the legs up to the face of the officer sitting next to her. His face is incredibly pale and he looks like he’s either going to pass out or be sick. He’s so laser focused on the President that he doesn’t even notice her blatantly staring at him.

            “Hey,” she whispers. At this, he startles and nearly jumps out of his chair. The officer jerks his eyes away from the front to her. What she sees makes her very worried. His eyes are wild and Felicity subconsciously leans away from him.

            “Are you okay?” Felicity whispers hesitantly, ignoring a few disapproving looks from those around them. Wonder Woman, who is at the front, turns to look at them, and she tries to remember if superhearing was one of her powers.

            The young man doesn’t answer, but he stands up slowly, still trembling. Felicity’s heart sinks for some reason and her breaths get shallow as the President falters during the speech. Like a giant wave, heads turn and the murmurs start. Some Secret Service agents get close to the President, while others make their way to the back. Felicity shuts her eyes when her neighbor pulls out a ceramic gun. The audience lets out a collective gasp.

            Immediately, people begin to move, guns drawn, chatter over the radio, jaw tightened but then Wonder Woman starts floating above the ground.

            “Stop! Everyone freeze!” she bellows and agents stop in their tracks. She flies over a little closer with caution.  As she makes her way, two agents grab the President and he is taken away to a secure location.

            The gun shakes in his hand.

            “Put the gun down, Lieutenant,” Wonder Woman says calmly.

            “My brother is out there in the middle of nowhere. He left him out to die! How could he?” he says, his voice hoarse.

            “Smoak, what’s going on?” Gordon asks.

            “National military incident in progress,” she mumbles out of the corner of her mouth.

            “What?” both Gordon and Lucius exclaim. However, she ignores them when Wonder Woman lands on the ground in front of them. With great sorrow, she speaks.

            “I am so sorry for the loss of your brother.”

            “He has to pay. He left them out like dogs. He has to pay!” the man screams. Felicity clenches her fists but doesn’t move in case he gets startled again.

            “You do not bring honor to your brother this way,” she says firmly. “Your people have a saying ‘two wrongs do not make a right’. Hurting others is not what your brother would have wanted.”

            He grits his teeth, “What do you know about my brother, bitch?”

            The woman frowns.

            “I know that he was a warrior who gave his life for his people. Someone who sacrifices like that would not want his brother to take a life of another in this manner.”

            “He didn’t have to die. It’s their fault. All their fault.”

            “I am sorry.”

            The man wildly looks around the crowd and when he doesn’t see the President in sight, he moans. Felicity flinches at the sound and he sees it. Before she can say anything, he grabs her as she yelps and points the gun to her head.

            “Bring the President back or I shoot her,” he says, his voice unsteady. She can feel his whole body vibrating and she clutches his arm that’s wrapped around her neck with both hands.

            “Don’t do this,” Felicity gasps. Wonder Woman puts her hands up.

            “Let her go,” she orders, her eyes flashing.

            “Bring him back or I’ll blow her brains out!” he snarls.

            There’s a crackle over the earpiece that Felicity can barely hear over her heavy breathing.

            “Stay calm, Smoak. Does he have a good handle on the gun? Cough once if yes, cough twice if no,” Gordon says. Felicity peeks out of the corner of her eye. The gun is shaking unsteadily beside her temple.  She coughs twice.

            “Okay, listen to me carefully. I want you to slam your head back into his nose really hard. Do you understand? Cough once if you do,” Gordon says. She coughs once.

            “Good. On three. One. Two. Three!”

            With as much force as she can muster, Felicity flings her head back and feels it make contact. There’s a dull thud that echoes inside her head along with the sound of him yelling. He falters and loosens his grip, and she pushes herself out from his grasp. As she runs, horror strikes her when she hears the gun go off but looks back when she hears a clang. Wonder Woman is up in the air with her wrists crossed in front of her and she realizes that the bullet must have ricocheted off the silver bracers. Agents immediately tackle the officer to the ground and Felicity drops to her knees a few feet away.

            “Smoak! You okay?” Gordon asks in concern.

            “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” she croaks. She takes in a few deep breaths and then stills when she sees a large shapely shadow cast over her on the concrete. Slowly Felicity turns to look up at the Amazon, who’s blocking the sun.

            “You don’t belong here,” the woman says.

            “Um,” Felicity replies.

            “Who are you?” she asks, her eyes narrowed. Felicity stands up cautiously.

            “My name is Felicity Smoak. I came here to speak with you,” she says. The woman comes at her and Felicity nervously backs away, but Wonder Woman grabs her wrist.

            Unable to even let out a gasp, Felicity is being lifted up into the air as Wonder Woman flies them out of the hangar. The scream gets stuck in Felicity’s throat as they soar over the base and over the desert. Finally, Wonder Woman lands and Felicity lets out a breath when her feet touch the sand. She glances around to see random cacti here and there and a long two-lane highway about two hundred yards away.

            “Why did you bring me here?” Felicity asks breathlessly. “Are you going to kill me?” 

            Wonder Woman crosses her arms.

            “No. I thought you would want to avoid answering questions while impersonating a military officer,” she replies. “What is your purpose? What do you want from me?”

            “I’m sorry. We didn’t know how else to contact you.”

            “We?” Wonder Woman raises her eyebrow. Felicity steps back and licks her lips. There is a certain glow about this woman and she doesn’t know if it’s the Greek goddess aspect that makes her tremble slightly. This beautiful woman is certainly something to behold especially with the lines of her muscles clearly defined. Felicity notes to herself to tell Oliver to increase his workout sessions. He has a lot of catching up to do.

            “I’m working with Barbara Gordon and Lucius Fox from Wayne Enterprises. We have been recruiting people like you to form a league. A league that can defend the country, the world from bad guys. Or bad people. They might not always be…guys,” Felicity says all in a rush. She rehearsed it so many times on the plane but it didn’t come out quite right. “We would be honored if you joined.”

            Her ears prick up at the caws of a large bird circling around them. This is one of the more surreal experiences of her life. She feels a drop of sweat running down the back of her neck. The woman stares at her thoughtfully and remains silent for a very long time.

            “Your world is so intriguing. You have moments of peace and love that can quickly turn into anger and hate. No matter how long I stay here, I fear I will never understand this world.”

            Felicity bites her lip and says nothing.

            “But I will give my all to protect it. My heart…lies here,” she says looking up at the dark bird still flying.

            “Colonel Trevor,” Felicity says softly. Diana of Themyscira jerks her eyes back to her at the name, but her gaze gradually softens.

            “He has shown me a different life,” she says.

            “I get that,” Felicity says. “It’s hard to go back.”

            There’s another long silence and then the woman smiles.

            “I feel that I can trust you, Felicity Smoak, even after you have lied. Why is that?”

            Felicity just grins, “I just have one of those faces, I guess.”

            “What?” Wonder Woman frowns in confusion. Felicity shakes her head.

            “Sorry, nothing. I mean, you can trust me.”

            Wonder Woman stretches out her arm and Felicity shakes it with a smile. The smile quickly disappears and she yelps as she’s pulled up into the air again.

            “Please warn me before you do that,” she gasps as her hair falls out of her carefully constructed bun. The black bird lets out a surprised squawk as the two women nearly fly into him. Felicity just closes her eyes and hangs on tight.

 

 

            “So Colonel Trevor gets stranded on an island after his plane crashes. Finds all these beautiful women and falls in love Diana, who follows him to a whole another world. You know, if I ever got stranded on an island, God forbid, I bet I wouldn’t have beautiful men falling in love with me. All I’d get would be a volleyball named Wilson. Some guys just have all the luck –”

            “Am I sensing bitterness there?” Lucius asks with an eyebrow raised.

            “Sorry. Oliver and…all the women. Lots of women,” Felicity mutters. She slides the small curtain up to look out the window to see the clouds floating beneath them. Lucius squirms in his seat next to her at the sight and grasps his glass of scotch tightly while he shuts his eyes.

            “Can we avoid talking about plane crashes and boating accidents for the rest of this flight?” he pleads.

            “Hey, you never know, Lucius. We crash tonight, you survive and you might end up falling in love with an Amazon princess. Oh, the wedding would be –”

            “I’m proud of you, Felicity, on your achievements today and I know that you were held at gunpoint, but please do shut up,” Lucius says bringing a handkerchief to his mouth.

            “Sorry, Lucius,” Felicity says and grins at Gordon, who is sitting across from them in the Wayne Enterprises company jet. Lucius just groans and stands up to use the facilities.

            “He’s going to be in there for awhile, isn’t he?” Felicity says. Gordon just chuckles and looks out the window. Felicity does as well, marveling at the sight of golden pink rays of the sunset.

            “She loves him. She followed him to another world,” Felicity says softly leaning back in her seat.  Gordon looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

            “Don’t tell me you’re a hopeless romantic.”

            “No, I mean, it’s just that he opened a whole different way of life to her,” she says.

            They share a moment of easy silence and Felicity looks down at her glass of red wine. She takes a sip and sighs, “When are you going to tell me to bring him in?”

            Gordon startles and she looks at Felicity with her mouth slightly opened. After a second, she clears her throat and brings her hands together on her lap and looks down. Her expression makes Felicity swallow as the realization dawns.

            “You weren’t going to bring him in at all,” she says, her eyes widening. Gordon opens her mouth again and then closes it. She rubs the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

            “He murdered a lot of people,” she says.

            Felicity leans forward and grips the edge of the seat.

            “That was in the beginning. He’s changed now,” Felicity says.

            “Oliver Queen left a trail of dead bodies in his wake. You can’t change that fact, Smoak. He’s unpredictable and an unknown factor –”

            “ _I_ know him. _I_ can vouch for him,” Felicity says gritting her teeth.

            Gordon rubs her eyes. “Smoak –”

            “He’s a good man, Gordon, and _I_ _trust him_.”

            They stare at one another.

            “I want to bring him in,” Felicity croaks, her gaze unwavering.

            Gordon leans back in her chair and then looks out the window again. The golden hue of the sunset reflects on her face. Then she looks back at her again and nods.

            “Okay. I trust you,” Gordon says.

            They sit through the rest of the flight in silence.

 

 

            Felicity drops her duffel bag to the floor her hotel room and she makes a beeline to her bed. She throws the covers over her head and just lets out one long groan. If she could sleep for a hundred years, she’d be okay with it. Her conversation with Gordon was unexpected and for some stupid reason, she feels hurt that she hadn’t even considered Oliver for the Justice League. She took it personally even though it was an attack on Oliver’s character, not hers.

            “Stop it,” groans Felicity and throws her arm over her head. “Just sleep.”

            But the fact that Gordon trusts her…it’s somewhat of a scary thought. Felicity kicks her legs up in the air in frustration and just lays still after bring her feet back down. Looking up at the ceiling, the image of Oliver Queen pops up.

            “Damn it,” Felicity sighs and closes her eyes.

            Gradually she’s lulled into light sleep and when her phone rings she almost lets out a scream of annoyance.

            After letting it ring a few times, she finally picks up her phone and growls, “What?”

            “Uh, sorry, but this is Cisco, from S.T.A.R. Labs? I just wanted to let you know…Barry Allen just woke up three hours ago."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Character Death. 
> 
> Thank you so much again for the lovely comments! Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

            The drizzling rain keeps getting on her glasses as she walks over from the parking garage to the coffee shop in Central City that Barry had arranged as a meeting location. Felicity pauses every few minutes to wipe her glasses with the end of her shirt. Central City only reminds her of the machines that he had been hooked up with and the beeping of his heart monitor. And now he’s awake. He’s been awake for three weeks and she’s only visiting him now because Wayne Enterprises along with half of Gotham was hit with a blackout caused by a massive storm. Servers crashed and Gordon and Felicity spent nights rebooting and updating their systems.

            But she knows that’s not the only reason. As selfish as it sounds, Felicity was uncertain about whether it was her place or not to visit him right away after she had heard about Iris West from Caitlin and Cisco. Then she started getting a trickle of voice messages from him.

 

_“Hey, guess what? I’m awake! I heard that you were there for me when I was uh sleeping. I just wanted to say thank you. Um…so thank you.”_

_“Hey, how are you? I know you’re probably busy with Arrow stuff but if you’re ever in Central City, let me know. I still need to thank you for everything. I’ll buy you dinner. Not like a date or anything because I know you and Oliver, I mean, uh. Okay, I guess I’ll see you later. Bye.”_

_“Hey, Felicity. Listen, there’s something – I don’t know if I’ve done something to hurt you or make you upset, which considering I was sleeping the entire time…I don’t know what it could be. But there’s something happening – something I wish I could tell you and Oliver… Uh yes sir. I’ll be right there, sir… Sorry I got to go. Um, call me back when you can?”_

 

            The cheer in his voice when she finally did call back made her really glad that she did and really sorry that she didn’t call sooner. After telling Gordon about the situation, Gordon gave her a few personal days and threw in the company car as a bonus.

Perhaps she was feeling guilty about the conversation on the plane or was trying to ease any tension or awkwardness between them. They had spent many nights in silence until Felicity finally broke and apologized for her childishness. Gordon apologized right away as well, still emphasizing the fact that she was wary about Oliver but she was willing to give him a chance.

            Then Gordon presented her with a watch with a distress signal that gave any or all of the Justice League members the GPS coordinates of the location of the wearer. Each Justice League member would get one. Felicity also received a slim black bar that would slide open to reveal a keyboard that could decrypt and rewrite any electronic device in a mile radius. While Felicity was still admiring the new devices, Gordon spoke up with a fond smile on her face.

            “Alfred said that you tried to convince Bruce not to pull the plug on us after I left.”

            Felicity glanced up from the watch taken aback, “Um, I didn’t really say much.”

            “Well, whatever you said, you convinced Alfred, which means you basically convinced Bruce. He’s not going to shut us down,” Gordon replied.

            “Really? Because he seemed hell-bent on it,” she said and then frowned at the devices. “What does this have to do with anything?”

            Gordon chuckled, “Bruce isn’t good at talking about his feelings. I think this is his way of saying sorry.” So with that, Felicity was able to drive out of Gotham with a lighter heart.

            She walks into the café and brushes off the rain from her now frizzy hair. She wipes her glasses one more time before she looks around to find Barry. He’s nowhere to be seen and so she orders a latte. She finds a seat by the window and watches the rain drop from the sky. Then she spots him crossing the street and she waves. He sees her and gives her a wide grin through the glass only to bump into another man. Felicity chuckles as she watches Barry apologize.

            The wind chimes ring as he opens the door and he walks up to Felicity with a sheepish look.

            “I’m sorry I’m late.”

            Felicity just smiles and shakes her head. “I’m the one who’s late. I’m sorry.”

            “It’s good to see you,” he says, his hands in his pockets.

            “It’s good to see you too. Here. And not in bed,” she says, too happy to even turn red.

            “I’m glad I’m not in bed too,” he replies. He gestures for her to sit down again, so they take a seat in their rickety chairs. Felicity traces a heart that someone had carved onto the wooden table with her finger.

            “You were… you scared me for awhile there. I mean, us. Well, Cisco and Caitlin were too, not that you know them. They’re from S.T.A.R. Labs, so I guess you probably know them by now. But I hear you had a frequent visitor, you probably scared her too,” Felicity says and then puts a hand on her forehead. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

            “Felicity, thank you. You didn’t have to do that. Come as often as you did. I really appreciate it. The coma-me probably appreciated it too then,” he says, scratching the back of his head.

            She plays with her cup and then takes a sip.

            “I’m sorry I didn’t come visit after I heard you were awake. I just got really caught up in stuff at work and well, this is so incredibly selfish, but I didn’t necessarily think you’d care to see me,” she says while swishing the coffee around in the cup.

            “Of course I want to see you. I mean, Starling City was…a lot happened and I had a great time working with you,” he says.

            When he finishes talking, Felicity chuckles and leans her head back slightly.

            “I liked working with you too,” she says. _And there’s the end of that, Felicity._

            Barry looks down and Felicity tilts her head. He’s almost jittery as if he has so much energy and excitement pent up. He looks up again at her with a brilliant smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

            “So can you keep a secret?” he asks.

            Felicity crosses her arms. “You know I can. What is it?” 

            He glances around the café to make sure no one’s listening and he leans in. Taking his lead, she leans in as well, slightly confused but also intrigued.

            “When I got struck by lightning, the chemicals on my shelf sort of spilled all over me. I think that caused a reaction in my body and things changed,” he says very quietly. 

            Felicity leans back and frowns. “Changed how? Are you okay?”

            Barry starts tapping his fingers on the table and at first it’s at normal speed, but then they get faster and faster so that they’re almost vibrating. He then stops at Felicity’s gasp and his excitement is clear.  She gulps.

            “W-what?” she sputters. He just grins before he stands up and grabs her hand.

            “It’s better if I just show you. Come on,” Barry says. Felicity nearly trips over her own feet as he pulls her away from the table.

            “Barry! What, how-”

            “Come on! Felicity, I’m telling you, this is so cool.”

            Felicity tries not to squeal when he maneuvers through the crowd in the streets quickly. He gives people a good-natured smile and apologizes when he nearly bumps into someone. There’s something entirely clumsy about him but he’s perfected his “pardon me’s” and “so sorry’s” that no one gets too angry. As much as she’s enjoying holding his hand while going for a brisk stroll through the streets of Central City, she has no idea where he’s taking her.

            “Uh – Barry, could you – oof! So sorry! Barry!” Felicity says as she nearly runs over an older lady with a bag of groceries in her frail arms, due to the force of his maneuvering. “Do you think we can slow down?”

            Barry just throws back a boyish grin and she can’t help but grin back. God, that sparkling smile that only he can pull off makes Felicity shake her head. She’s only known him for a few months and for the majority of the time he’s been in a coma, but there’s an irresistible charm about him. Charm that isn’t fake or used as a mask like Oliver does but it’s charm that he doesn’t even know he has.

            When they finally come to a stop, Felicity frowns in confusion. He’s taken her into what seems like an isolated alley in front of an abandoned warehouse. He turns back around, nearly bouncing with energy.

            “Want to tell me why we’re in what looks like to be a mugging zone?” she asks with an eyebrow raised. “Barry, what’s going on? How’d you do that with your fingers?”

            He doesn’t say anything, however, and just grabs her by the sides of her arms and gently places her against a brick wall, his body very close to hers.

            “Oh, okay,” she mutters, her mouth suddenly dry. However, he backs off and walks away to the far side of the alley. “Right. Okay.”

            Then he leans forward as if he’s a sprinter getting in position before the start of the race. He mouths something that she can’t really read and then he’s off. He disappears. No, that’s not right. She _sees_ him or at least a vague outline of him as he turns into a gust of wind that flashes by. The force of the wind makes her hair fly and she’s glad she decided to wear jeans instead of a skirt today. And not even in a blink of an eye, he reappears at the other side of the alley and he doesn’t even seem out of breath. Felicity just stares at him, her jaw dropped.

            “What?” she sputters again. Then she yelps when he turns into a streak of wind again and he’s coming straight at her. But he pulls out of it just before he hits her and has to regain his balance by touching the wall.

            “Cool, right?” he says beaming.

            “Uh,” she can only say.

            Really she shouldn’t be so shocked. Felicity had run-ins with a space alien and a Greek goddess in the past month or two. This is nothing compared to them, but it’s _Barry_. Geeky, CSI, meticulous Barry who she danced with only a few months ago. He stands there with an expectant smile and runs his hand through his hair.

            “I know it’s crazy. Unbelievable even. But I’ve been – I took a leaf out of Oliver’s book,” he says.

            At this, Felicity looks at him with curiosity. He shrugs sheepishly.

            “Just petty criminals for the most part. I mean, I’m smart about it. I don’t just rush into things – oh, that wasn’t meant to be a pun. But I – can you say something, Felicity?”

            “You’re a vigilante now?” she asks, her eyes narrowed. He bites his bottom lip.

            “No, not a vigilante. I just help people out. I mean, I guess I do wear a mask and everything.”

            Felicity suddenly is overcome with laughter. She leans against the wall trying to take in deep breaths only to start laughing again. A tear or two stream down her cheek. She covers her face with both of her hands. This is it. Proof that she is indeed a magnet for all things weird and extraordinary, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.  

            “Felicity. You okay?” Barry asks in concern. She gradually calms herself down and she’s breathing normally again. Felicity drops her hands and grins at this incredibly charming, boyish face.

            “I have a part-time gig for you,” she says, her eyes still laughing. “I think you’d be interested.”

 

 

            Barry takes her into S.T.A.R. Labs and she swallows at the memories of coming in here so many times to check on him. When she sees Cisco, she smiles at the sight of him typing away at his keyboard muttering at himself. Only a few feet away, Caitlin Snow stands there looking at her tablet closely, biting her thumb mindlessly. Barry clears his throat and they both jump.

            “I think you’ve already met Felicity,” he says gesturing towards her. They both give her a smile.

            “They were very helpful in the fight against Deathstroke. You helped save Starling City,” she says with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Barry frowns and looks down at her.

            “I heard about that on the news. I did a lot of catching up. How is, um, Arrow doing?” he asks.

            Caitlin and Cisco try their very best to pretend not to be curious and she appreciate their efforts. She just shrugs.

            “He’s lost a lot. But he’s getting better,” she says.

            Barry winces and nods in understanding. He then brightens up as he informs Cisco and Caitlin.

            “I told her. Well, I showed her,” he says. Cisco and Caitlin exchange looks and then walk over to them with excitement.

            “Did you see how fast –” Caitlin says.

            “I know! How fast exactly does he go? What in his body changed? Is it his genetic make up?” Felicity asks. Caitlin grins and waves her over to the computer. So she follows but she doesn’t miss the roll of Barry’s eyes.

            “I’m right here, you guys,” he says.

            Felicity peers over Caitlin’s shoulders as she shows her the all the information she’s found out so far. Pretty soon, all four of them are crowded around the computer, comparing notes, throwing out theories, and making corny jokes. Being surrounded by these people, Felicity feels at ease and starts having fun.

            However, her phone rings, interrupting the chatter. She excuses herself and looks at the Caller ID – John Diggle. She mouths “Diggle” to Barry and she walks over to a more private area to answer the phone.

            “Diggle. I’m at Central City. Barry’s awake! And you would not believe what he showed me. Well, I should probably let him tell you guys–” she says with a bright smile.

            “Felicity, you need to come home. Detective Lance passed away this morning,” Diggle interrupts.

            Felicity freezes. It takes a few seconds before she can get her mouth to open again.

            “But he was stable,” she says softly.

            “I know, but he went into cardiac arrest. The funeral’s tomorrow – it would – it would be good to have you here,” Diggle says, his voice slightly shaky.

            “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she whispers before she says her goodbye and hangs up.

            She suddenly feels a chill in the air and wraps her arms around herself. Although she had known the severity of his injuries, she had always thought that he would eventually wake up – that maybe the thought of Laurel and Sara would be enough to keep him alive, keep him breathing. Felicity didn’t know Detective Lance well but he had been an ally, an ally that she and her team and relied on. Even with all his crotchety ways, he had been a friend to her and to Arrow.

            And now he’s gone.

 

 

            The officers in their dress uniforms march across the bright green grass beside the black casket with their rifles in their arms. Their stoic expressions as they fire the shots into the air in honor of a fallen detective make Felicity close her eyes. She feels the sun beaming down on the people gathered to mourn the loss of Detective Quentin Larry Lance.

            When she opens her eyes again she sees Laurel at the very front row on the other side of the casket. Laurel is sitting up so incredibly straight as if to ward off any comforting words or touches from the others. The tears flow freely from her large deep eyes as she stares at the casket with flowers cascading over. Oliver sits next to her and Felicity knows that his heart is breaking for Laurel and Sara. There is an empty seat next to Laurel and as she thinks about the other blonde woman in her life, the tears creep into her eyes. Felicity quickly brushes them away.

            Oliver gives Laurel’s hand a quick squeeze before she stands up to give her father’s eulogy. The paper in her hand starts shaking slightly and Laurel quickly grasps it with both hands. She pauses and then looks out at the crowd.

            “When I was little, I was always so proud of the fact that my father was a cop. I bragged to my friends that he upheld the law and fought for justice no matter what. I don’t think I even knew what justice meant back then. But when I got older and started taking an interest in boys, I didn’t always appreciate his career choice,” Laurel says with a choked chuckle. The light chuckle spreads across the audience and Oliver gives her a supportive smile.

            “But even then, my father inspired me to always do what’s right for this city and I became a lawyer. My father and I – we, we didn’t always agree on things. In fact, we were so similar in that way. Both so stubborn and so headstrong. But that’s the thing about us, we always give it our all in whatever we do,” Laurel pauses to wipe away her tears. She looks down at the casket.

            “There has been…much loss in our family,” she says glancing at her mother who’s sitting in the second row. Her eyes are swimming with tears. “My father went through so much but he did his best. He gave it his all as a detective, as a friend, as a husband and as…as a father. And I will always love him. Thank you.”

            Laurel ducks her head as she goes back to her seat and as soon as she sits down, her shoulders shake as the sobs start. Felicity looks away as Oliver wraps his arm around Laurel’s shoulder and pulls her closer to him. Laurel rests her head against his shoulder and the tears keep coming as people start lining up to pay their respects to Detective Lance by laying their hands on the casket.

            When it’s Felicity’s turn, she touches the wood and is almost surprised to see a tear splash down next to her hand. She bows her head.

            “Thank you, Detective Lance,” she whispers. When she lifts her hand, Felicity feels Oliver’s gaze on her.

            But she doesn’t look at him and only sees Laurel. She has no idea what to say and can only give her a watery smile. Laurel nods in appreciation and Felicity walks away.

            She finds Diggle standing by a tree with one hand in his suit pocket. When he sees her, he takes his hand out to return her sudden and hard embrace. Felicity bites back a sob.

            “I think I’m crying for Detective Lance now,” she whispers. She feels his chin on her head.

            “I know,” he replies. When she looks up, his eyes are glossy.

            “How are you doing?” she sniffs. He only looks down at his shoes.

            “I’ve been better.”

            She squeezes his arm and only whispers, “Yeah.”

            The crowd starts to peter out as the sun slowly starts to set. The pink sunrays reflect off the glossy wooden casket as the officers lower the casket into the ground. Then the cemetery workers grab their shovels and start their work. Oliver and Laurel finally walk away and Oliver hands Laurel off to her mother after giving both of them a peck on their cheeks.

            Oliver catches her gaze and doesn’t look away as he walks over to them. The bloodshot eyes and the wane face get clearer as he gets closer and she knows he feels like hell. When he reaches them, he looks down at her.

            “Hey,” he says.

            “Hey,” she says back.

            “I’m going to go bring the car around. I’ll see you soon?” Diggle says to Felicity and she nods before he turns to leave.

            “He’s gone,” Oliver says turning around to stand next to Felicity and they watch Laurel and her mother embrace, off in the distance.

            “I know,” she murmurs and she can’t help but glance at him as he watches Laurel’s mother sob in her daughter’s arms.

            “She should be here,” he says, his voice just tinged with anger. Felicity immediately thinks of Nyssa and her attack on Wayne Manor. Her heart sinks as she wonders where Sara is.

            “She must have had a reason. She’s so far away,” she trails off.

            “I should have been there,” he whispers lifting his gaze from Laurel and staring at the setting sun. Right away, she knows that he’s talking about a different parent, a different funeral.

            “You honored her memory by fighting,” she responds firmly.

            His jaw tightens and Felicity sees the trail of a tear glinting in the sunlight. She takes his hand and he lets out a small breath at her touch, but he still stares off into the horizon.

            “I don’t know how she’s going to handle this. She’s already been through so much,” he says the guilt settling on his shoulders. “If Slade and I hadn’t –”

            “Don’t,” Felicity whispers. “Not your fault.”

            At the familiar words, Oliver glances down at Felicity and his hand starts to tighten around hers just as she lets go as she looks at the grieving woman who is heading over to them. She doesn’t notice that his fingers curl in into a slight fist. From this distance, Laurel’s silhouette is a tall, lone, steely figure against the backdrop of the green trees, the green grass, and the grey tombstones. It’s an image that Felicity’s not likely to forget.  Laurel approaches them with a small smile and right away Oliver’s hand is on her elbow. She glances at him in gratitude but looks back at Felicity.

            “Thank you so much for coming, Felicity,” she says.

            “I am so sorry for your loss,” Felicity says softly. Laurel nods, closing her bloodshot eyes for a brief moment.

            “Me too,” she whispers.

            Oliver murmurs, “Come here,” as he wraps his arm around Laurel and pulls her in close. Felicity looks down at the grass and holds tightly onto her purse. As much as she hates to admit it, it hurts to see. Laurel clears her throat though and she has to look back up.

            “Dad told me once that – he did his best work when Arrow came along. He…really appreciated you guys,” Laurel says to them. “So thank you.”

            Felicity’s throat immediately clogs but it’s Oliver’s reaction that she watches. He stiffens but still keeps his arm around the woman. However, his eyes get cloudy as the guilt invades yet again. So Felicity speaks.

            “Detective Lance was a good man. He was a hero,” she says. She winces slightly when the tears start welling up again in Laurel’s eyes but she doesn’t regret saying it. She has to know what her father truly was.  Laurel tilts her head to rest on Oliver’s shoulder slightly.

            “Thank you,” she whispers while looking at Felicity. Oliver looks at Felicity as well but she can’t read what he’s thinking for the first time in a long time.

            Then Laurel sighs and looks up at Oliver.

            “Can we go home?” she asks.  He nods.

            At the word “home”, Felicity’s stomach drops and she swallows hard. She wants to look questioningly at Oliver but she resists the urge. However, Laurel seems to notice her reaction, looks stricken, and immediately steps away from Oliver.

            “Hey, Oliver. Before we go, can I get a moment with Felicity?”

            Both Oliver and Felicity look alarmed and they exchange confused looks with one another.

            “Please,” Laurel says firmly.

            “’Kay. I’ll be with Diggle in the car,” he says to Laurel and walks away without even a glance at Felicity. But she glances and she sees the tension radiating off him.

            “I’m not – we’re not dating. My dad – it was touch and go for a week and I’ve been staying at Oliver’s. I just didn’t have anywhere to go,” Laurel says.

            Felicity shakes her head, “Laurel, you don’t have to –”

            “You’re in love with him,” Laurel says in a firm voice.

            Felicity takes a step back and her mouth opens slightly.

            “Felicity, it’s clear as day. Even if you leave Starling City for weeks, it’s still all there, isn’t it?”

            She says nothing in response and only holds onto the purse more tightly. Laurel steps in closer with a slight smile.

            “I found out that it doesn’t work that way. There’s no running. It all comes back around in the end and you just have to face it,” Laurel continues getting a faraway look in her eyes.

            Felicity blinks. “Laurel, whatever you’re trying to do here –”

            “I’m saying that I’ve been on that road and I’m telling you that you’ve got a long one ahead of you,” Laurel says.

            The tall woman embraces Felicity and whispers, “I’ll be out of his place as soon as I can. Just give me some time.”

            Felicity only wraps her arms around her in response. Then she watches Laurel walk through the cemetery dressed completely in black with her chin up, back straight, and the breeze slightly blowing her wavy hair in the air. Maybe it’s the trick of the sun, but Felicity swears that the woman’s hair is lighter, just almost a shade of blonde.

           

 

            As she drives, Felicity cranks the music up to drown out her thoughts but it doesn’t work. Marvin Gaye, while lovely, only gives her a massive headache so she lowers the volume soon after, feeling slightly foolish. It’s completely dark now and she doesn’t know why she’s driving through the Glades. It’s been about a year since the earthquake and the earthquake seems like nothing compared to the devastation Slade created in the city. But it’s the Glades and it holds a soft spot in Felicity’s heart.

            After the funeral, she had gone back to her apartment to pack some things and change. Then she went to Big Belly Burger to get dinner with John. While it felt inappropriate to laugh at first, they started reminiscing about the old days when Oliver had fed her ridiculous lines and when Detective Lance started being an honorary member of the team. John then gave her a big smile as he proudly announced that he would be having a daughter in just a few short months. After minutes of squealing, Felicity rapid fired many names only for John to shake his head and smile.

            Felicity sighs as she passes a homeless man slumped over by a trash can. She then dials using the company car’s screen.

            “How are you, Smoak?” Gordon asks not even bothering to say hello. But the concern is clear in her voice.

            Felicity uses her friend’s words, “I’ve been better. I’ll be on my way to Gotham soon.”

            “Are you sure? You can stay a few more days,” Gordon says.

            Felicity shakes her head aware that Gordon can’t see it. Her hands clench the steering wheel.

            “No, I have to get out of here. I just wanted to let you know,” she says.

            “All right. Drive safe then,” Gordon says before she hangs up.

            But Felicity doesn’t notice as she looks through the rearview mirror. A pair of headlights flash through the reflective surface, the same ones that had been there for about ten minutes.  She frowns and turns her steering wheel to the left.

            Her heart skips a beat when the headlights follow her lead. She squints and can only tell that it’s a dark SUV. At the stoplight she makes a right turn and then another right turn at a small street. Still, the car follows. She drives on for a little longer and as Felicity comes to a stop on a larger but empty street, she grips her wheel tightly. The SUV glides to a stop behind her and after looking both ways, Felicity presses down on the accelerator and floors it. With a growl, her car zooms through the red light. She checks in the rearview mirror. The car doesn’t follow and she lets go a sigh of relief.

            Maybe it was just her imagination. She rubs her pocket to feel for her decryption device and then reaches for her purse where the watch Gordon gave her is, just in case. But before she can grab her purse, bright lights shine through the driver’s side window and she turns her head to see what it is. Felicity chokes on her scream as she sees the looming car.

            She sees a flash of white as the airbag deploys and it gets incredibly hard to breathe. She feels her body jerking around as her car spin out. She only hears the glass shattering and the creak of steel bending. Her car finally comes to stop and she lets out shaky breaths. She can’t move but Felicity eyes her purse. Her fingers stretch out to grab it but soon gasps at the sound of a loud crash as her door is flung opened and broken off at the hinge. The door makes a sharp sound as it hits the concrete twirling about until it comes to a stop.

            A man in a black mask stares down at her as he cuts her out of the seat and she opens her mouth to speak or scream. Nothing comes out and she tastes the blood that made its way into her mouth instead. He grabs her by the waist and she’s tossed over his shoulder. He makes his way over to a white van, and Felicity sees her car getting further and further away. She keeps her hand outstretched willing for her purse to fly out of the car and into her hand. But Felicity has no superpowers. So her hand eventually lowers as she loses consciousness.

 

 

            Felicity blinks into consciousness. At first she sees a light swaying left and right and as her eyes get used to the surroundings, she sees that it’s a light bulb attached to a wire that’s hanging from the ceiling. Her pulse quickens as she realizes she’s strapped to a chair with her hands tied resting on her lap. Her hands get scraped by the harsh rope as she tries to loosen the grip.

            It’s a small empty room save for the chair, a table, and the light bulb and there is one masked guard standing at the door, his hands gathered at the front clutching a large gun.

            “Who are you? Get me out of here,” she rasps out and she moans as the soreness of her body suddenly hits her. Her vision blurs as an ache spreads from temple to temple.

            Then she feels something rise up within her and she flings her head to side to vomit up her dinner. Felicity coughs after, her mouth feeling raw. The guard doesn’t flinch and just stands there, his eyes straight ahead.

            The light bulb keeps swinging back and forth, covering her in darkness when it swings to the right every few seconds. When the bulb swings to the right again, she quickly and quietly reaches for her pocket and grips something tight in her hands. The light bulb swings back and she’s in the light again. The light makes her head spin and Felicity looks at the guard.

            “Please,” she whispers, her head slowly lolling to the side.

            The world goes black.

 

 

            A loud thud awakes her and she jumps with a gasp. She feels the rope straining against her and soon remembers where she is. Felicity lifts her head and sees a woman dressed completely in black. She can’t tell if it’s leather or not but it’s sleek, skin tight and conformed to her shape – slender yet muscular. The woman has her hair up in a bun and wears a black mask. The only thing Felicity can see are her hazel eyes and shocking red lips. She has her hands spread out against the table and Felicity realizes where the thud came from.

            “Hello there, Felicity Smoak,” she says, her voice velvety and deep.

            The blood drains from Felicity’s face as she recognizes those four words.

            “Smith.”

            Smith grins baring the whitest of teeth.

            “It’s good to see you face to face. Well, sort of,” she says gesturing towards her mask. “But it’ll do. Not quite what you were expecting, am I?”

            Felicity’s breath catches and it takes her a moment to calm herself down. She closes her eyes so she doesn’t have to see Smith’s condescending smile and opens them again when she can speak.

            “What do you want with me?”

            Smith presses something down that’s wrapped around her wrist and she chuckles. Felicity tries not to gasp. The chuckle sounds like Arrow.

            “I hired the League of Assassins to do one job. You’d think Nyssa al Ghul, as prestigious as her name is, would get it done. But no, Batman outsmarted her. That’s what I hate about weak women, Felicity, they can’t get out of a jam on their own,” Smith says with a sweet smile. The Arrow voice coming out of a woman’s mouth feels so wrong and Felicity cringes.

            But she says nothing.

            “But you, Felicity. We still have yet to see, don’t we?” Smith walks around the table and grabs her chin. Felicity tries to jerk away but Smith keeps her grip and forces her to look at her.

            “Batman has the key, and I have you, HR of the Justice League, as hostage.”

            Felicity glares at her. “What makes you think Batman will come for me? I’m not his biggest fan.”

            Smith lets go and smooth out Felicity’s hair. She then walks around the table again, her high heels clicking against the cement.

            “Gordon cares about you. Lucius Fox cares about you. And Batman cares about them. Do you see where I’m going with this? Of course you do, you’re nothing like Nyssa. Your mind –” Smith makes a whirring sound. “- moves so fast. Amazing, really.”

            “Why do you want a missile?” Felicity asks, still tasting blood in her mouth.

            “Let’s just say…I’m not too fond of the President,” Smith says.

            “The President?” Felicity whispers.

            “Well him and his administration. I’m not _their_ biggest fan,” she murmurs looking down at her nails.

            “You’re crazy,” Felicity spits out. Smith doesn’t even look up and blows on her nails.

            “Yes, but I make do.”

            Felicity just sits there in silence, her body has stopped trembling. She does a mental check of her injuries. Her sweat is in her eyes and her head is still pounding. She has definitely bruised her left rib or something because there’s a sharp pain when she breathes too heavily.  Felicity sees Smith pulling out a phone and texting. Felicity can hear the quiet sounds of the phone clicking as Smith quickly types out each letter. Then she hears the whooshing sound of a text message sent and Smith puts the phone up.

            “They have twenty-four hours to make the exchange,” Smith says and walks out of the room. The heavy door clangs shut and she’s left with the guard again.

            Felicity swallows several times and then calls out to him.

            “Please. I need some water. I get dehydrated easily – not that you care since you kidnapped me and all. But in case somewhere deep, deep, deep inside of you, you actually do have a heart, could you get me some water?” she says trying to push down the anxiety rising within her.

            The guard doesn’t respond.

            “There’s something about me you should know, well, you probably already know it by now. I can’t shut up in high stress situations and considering I’m tied up in a chair in some dark room, I’d say this is a high stress situation, wouldn’t you?” Felicity pauses licking her bottom lip.

            He still stands there and says nothing.

            “All right then. Here we go. I was born in Reno in 1989 to Margaret and Dar-”

            The guard just curses and leaves the room.

            Felicity lets out a breath of relief and then quickly gets to work.

 

 

            Twenty-four hours later, three men drag her to the van and roughly shove her inside. She winces as her ribs protest and her knees bump into something hard. With a bag thrown over her head, it’s hard to see as she sits on the floor of the van with her hands still tied in front of her. She doesn’t know where Smith is though and that worries her.

            The drive only takes a few minutes and Felicity gasps as the bag is slipped off her head. She blows the hair out of her face and then yelps as the men drag her out of the vehicle. They’re on the docks and she feels the breeze on her face. The smell of the sea overwhelms her after being in a dark room for a day. She tries not to tremble as the three men surround her with guns in their hands. One man has his arm around her tight.

            And they wait.

            And wait.

            The men start exchanging looks with one another and the man holding her nods toward one of them.

            “They’re fucking late,” he snarls. “Call Smith!”

            Felicity grins and says, “You might not want to do that.”

            His grip tightens as he growls into her ear, “What are you talking about?”

            She looks up and smiles.

            “Smith thought she sent a text to Gordon, but she didn’t. Not really,” Felicity says finally revealing her decryption device. “They’re not coming.”

            As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she slams her head back into his and then lurches forward as she presses a button on the black bar that’s been in her hand for a very long time. Felicity runs as she hears the phones of each men explode due to the virus she sent them. The men yell and moan as the sparks fly and their bodies are thrown into the air.

            But the man that hold her gets up and starts shooting wildly at her as she runs off. She lets out a sharp cry as she feels blazing pain emanating within her. Felicity limps over to a wall and crouches down to take cover as the gunshots ring out. She desperately looks down to see where she’s hit, but it’s hard to see in the dark.

            “Who the fuck are you?” she hears the man say, his voice echoing from a distance. 

            Then she hears a large crash and a sound of a long whimpering moan.

            Felicity gasps for air and sinks down to the ground, leaning her head back against the wall. The tears stream down her face and all she wants is –

            “Felicity! No. Felicity,” someone says. Suddenly Superman is in her line of vision as he grabs the side of her arms. The concern is visible in his eyes as he examines her body quickly. Felicity knows she’s supposed to be confused at his presence but she just doesn’t have the energy to be. He quickly unties her hands and she grasps onto his arm.

            “C-Clark.”

            “Your shoulder. The bullet went through your shoulder,” he says covering the said body part with his hand. Felicity whimpers when he makes contact and puts pressure on the wound.

            It’s only then she sees the blood flowing over Superman’s hand. He brushes her hair out of her face and rubs his thumb gently across her temple reassuringly. His hand feels cool to the touch and it brings a tiny bit of relief so she leans her head against it.

            “We have to get you to a hospital,” he says as he gathers her into her arms. She lets out another gasp at the jostling.

            “I’m so sorry,” he murmurs as she grits her teeth.

            “No,” she croaks. “Oliver. Oliver Queen.”

            “What? Felicity, we have to –”

            “Oliver. Queen Mansion. Please,” she whispers as he takes flight. She nearly throws up again at the speed he’s moving, but Felicity keeps her eyes fixed on the full moon to keep herself steady. The stars seem to be streaming by, one after another. So this is a night spent in the Glades, she thinks.

            “Okay, just hang on.”

 

 

            Superman nearly kicks down the door open with Felicity almost limp in his arms only to see a brunette let out a scream in the foyer. He charges forward towards her and he hears footsteps running across the hallways of the second floor. The woman then gasps at the sight of Felicity bleeding and rushes to her.

            “Oh my God, Felicity. Quickly! Over here,” she says leading him to another room. He sets Felicity down gently on a long couch and clamps his hand down on her shoulder. Felicity jerks up in pain and the woman put her hand on her other shoulder to gently hold her down.

            “Who are you? Laurel, move,” a man roars with a bow and arrow pointed at Superman. The man’s veins are nearly popping out and his jaw is clenched as he stares down at Superman.

            “Oliver! It’s Felicity!” the woman called Laurel yells. At this, his eyes snap to the back of the couch and he slowly gets closer with a certain amount of dread. Then when his eyes fall on Felicity, Queen’s breath quickens as he drops the bow and arrow and rushes to the other side, landing on his knees. 

            “No,” he rasps out. The panic is clear, and for some reason, Superman’s temper flare up.

            “We have to get her to a hospi-” he says loudly, but the man clamors away not listening to a word he’s saying. He sprints back with a black bag and is back at Felicity’s side again. Queen unzips the bag quickly and takes out medical supplies and equipment.

            Superman only watches as the man gets a morphine drip set up.

            “Move,” Queen orders with gritted teeth when he’s finished. Superman does as he’s directed and tries to ignore the blood on his hand. He looks up to see the woman gently running her fingers through Felicity’s hair and whispering in her ear.

            Queen slips his hand underneath Felicity and brings her torso slightly up so that he can remove her jacket. She whimpers at this and her eyes fling open. He looks down at her with a gaze that Superman is all too familiar with.

            “Hey. You’re going to be okay,” Queen whispers.

            Laurel helps Queen with the jacket and then Queen grabs scissors. Before Superman can ask what that’s for, Queen cuts her shirt open straight through the middle and through the sleeves, and then slips the ruined shirt from underneath her. He does this with such care that both Laurel and Superman glance at Queen before looking down at Felicity again. Laurel continues to rub Felicity’s head gently.

            Felicity lets out a small moan as Oliver begins to sew up her wound. With both of Queen’s hands busy, Superman lends his and wraps his fingers around hers gingerly, afraid of hurting her. The process seems to go on forever and then it’s finished. She’s all patched up, cleaned up, and the bandages neatly covering her shoulder.

            Laurel stands up to get a shirt for her, but Queen just unbuttons his blue dress shirt, revealing a white shirt underneath, and wraps it around her. Then with so much affection he closes each button one by one. Laurel kneels down again by her head at the foot of the couch. Felicity stirs slightly and her eyes flutter open.

            “Hey,” she rasps out.

            Queen smiles, his eyes red, “Shh. Rest.”

            He gently places his hand on the side of her face and rubs a tear away with his thumb.  Felicity blinks and seem to focus on Superman. Then her eyes flicker away and she smiles up at Queen.

            “W-wanna join the Justice League?” she whispers ever so softly.

            Then her eyes shut and her body eases into heavy slumber.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the lovely comments again! Hope you enjoy!

            Clark Kent learned when to step away from a fight ever since he was eight years old and he nearly blasted another kid who had just punched him. He had never seen his father, usually a mild mannered man, so angry, when he shouted at him that Clark was to never use his powers unless it was for good, and even then it would be dicey. He had spent most of his childhood and adolescent years hiding his powers, pretending he was like any other kid. So he knows how to pull his punches and when to step away, well, most of the time. So when Queen rams him against the wall after Felicity falls asleep, roaring in his face, Clark just looks up at the ceiling, which is now sprinkling dust from the impact. Laurel lets out a gasp as she looks up as well as the dust flutter down to the carpet.

            “What did you do to her?” Queen asks, jaws clenched. Judging by the way his eyes flicker to the cracks in the wall that outlines Clark’s body, Clark figures Queen understands to a certain degree about how powerful he truly is.

            Considering he had broken into Queen’s home, carrying the woman he loves shot and bleeding in his arms, though, he supposes he deserves this much.

            “I did nothing,” Clark says, meeting Queen’s glare.

            “ _Nothing?_ You bring her in here, shot with bruised ribs and cuts all over her face – and you tell me nothing?” The man’s voice gets menacing hiding the pain that Clark knows he’s feeling in his hands from pushing him.

            Clark pushes Queen off and the man steps back trying to regain his balance from the power of the shove. Clark winces, he didn’t mean to put too much force into it.

            “Barbara sent me to find her because Felicity’s car sent a distress signal. I found her after fighting off the three men, Army specialists from the looks of it, and she was shot. She told me to bring her here. I don’t know what the men wanted from her,” he explains calmly.

            “Who the hell is Barbara?” Queen asks angrily.

            Clark lets out a small breath. He spreads his hands out.

            “Barbara Gordon from Wayne Enterprises. She works with Felicity. I think she’s her employer. She’s the one who hired Felicity to do the recruiting,” Clark says.

            At this Queen stops pacing. “Recruiting for what?”

            Clark chuckles and Laurel looks at him quizzically. “The Justice League. She just recruited you too.”

            “The Justice League? What is that?” Laurel asks after glancing at Queen. She stands up from the foot of the couch and walks over to them slowly. She keeps an eye on Queen who is tense from head to toe. Clark sighs.

            “It’s a league for people like me and you, I guess,” Clark nods at Queen. He wonders what sort of powers he has. He only noted the bow and arrow. “A group of heroes fighting together to defeat evil. I don’t know if those were Felicity’s exact words, but I believe that’s the basic idea,” Clark says glancing down at Felicity with softened eyes.

            She looks so peaceful and with the ghost of a smile dancing across her lips, he wonders if she’s dreaming already.

            “Hey,” Queen says roughly making Clark snap his gaze back to the man. “So you’re saying she’s been recruiting other vigilantes?”

            Clark opens his mouth to speak but the woman interrupts. She frowns as she examines him more closely.

            “You’re that man on the news. They’ve been calling you Superman,” she murmurs. At the word “Superman” Queen narrows his eyes and then looks back at Felicity. Clark sighs again.

            “I’m not the one who started that.”

            Laurel grins and gestures at his chest, the large S splayed across the center. “Well, you certainly ran with it.”

            “No, that’s not an S, that’s –”

            “Is she or is she not recruiting other vigilantes to this group?” Oliver demands loudly interrupting the conversation and stepping closer to him again. Clark decides to keep his answer simple.

            “Yes. I believe so. I don’t know who else she’s recruited so far. I was her first. I mean, it was her first time.”

            Damn, that came out wrong. Laurel makes a noise that suspiciously sounds like a choked laugh and Queen only glowers. Clark frowns and wonders if that’s what he looks like when he’s out and about as Superman. Then Felicity stirs in her sleep, a slight frown on her face.

            “No. ‘Liver,” she mumbles, her eyes still closed. They all look down at her in this moment but Queen is the first to move. He walks over to her and without taking his eyes off of her, he carefully gathers her into his arms. Then without a word or a glance back at Clark or Laurel, he leaves the room and carries her up the stairs.

            Clark glances down at the floor and blinks. This evening is turning out to be a nightmare. He looks up when Laurel clears her throat. She wraps her arms around herself.

            “Sorry about Ollie. I’m learning that he gets a little testy about things,” she says.

            “I see that,” he says. Laurel walks over to the wall where his body is now imprinted on it and she traces her finger over the cracks curiously. He clears his throat.

            “Sorry about that, ma’am,” he says. Laurel turns around and smirks.

            “Ma’am? Wow, so polite.”

            “No, just old-fashioned,” he replies with a grin.

            Then Clark hears something. He frowns as he walks over to a window and lifts the curtain slightly. He sees the grass on the vast front lawn bristling in the breeze even in the darkness. From behind him, Laurel speaks.

            “What is it?” she asks.

            He doesn’t answer and only walks out of the room to stand in front of the decorative front doors to the mansion. Clark opens them both at the same time and as they fling open, he brings his arms back down to his sides. Laurel steps in beside him peering out on the lawn.

            “What’s going on?” she asks again.

            Clark looks up at the sky expectantly and raises his index finger to his lips.

            “Just wait,” he says. So she looks up with him and then squints her eyes when she sees bright lights in the sky. But Clark knows that she can’t see anything else.

            “What is that? Is that a…plane?”

            He chuckles lightly, “Well, it’s definitely not a bird.”

            The lights get brighter and the sounds of whirring air get louder. The leaves, sticks, and clipped grass start rising up from the ground as the wind blows harder and harder. Clark frowns and uses his vision to see the skeletal system of a medium-sized jet.

            “Where is that coming from? I don’t see anything,” Laurel says.

            There’s a large thud as the wheels of the jet touches down on the front lawn of the Queen Mansion. Laurel gasps as the pilot turn off the stealth mode and the jet suddenly materializes. The door to the plane whirs open and a walkway is produced. A red haired woman rolls down the walkway in her wheelchair. He frowns. That’s not quite what he expected Barbara Gordon to look like.

            She wheels over to them and stops at the front steps. She smiles.

            “Hello, Superman. I’m Barbara Gordon. It’s nice to finally meet you. Thank you for contacting me right away,” she says. The walkway folds up and the door to the jet is closed. Barbara Gordon glances back and clicks a button on a small remote in her hand. The jet disappears again.

            “W-what?” Laurel gasps, staring out at the seemingly empty space.

            “Miss Gordon,” he says with a nod. The woman shakes her head, smiling still.

            “Just Barbara, please,” she requests.

            “Barbara, may I help you up?” he asks, grinning down at her.

            “Would you, please?” Barbara says. Clark walks out and steps in behind her. Then without even a grunt, he lifts her and the wheelchair and brings her inside. Laurel quickly moves aside, the look of disbelief not fading from her face. Barbara frowns at the young woman.

            “I’m sorry, and you are?” Barbara asks. Laurel clasps her hands behind her back.

            “Laurel Lance. Oliver’s friend,” she manages to say. Barbara only nods and then looks up at Clark.

            “How is she?” she asks in a low voice.

            “She was shot in the shoulder, but the bullet went straight through. Queen fixed her up. He said she has bruised ribs as well. I think you were right about a car accident,” Clark answers quickly.

            Barbara quickly glances around the foyer and wheels forward, Clark and Laurel looking at her from the back.

            “Where is she?” she asks worriedly.

            “Oliver took her upstairs. She’s sleeping now,” Laurel answers for him. “You’re her boss then? The one at Wayne Enterprises?”

            Clark sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose when he hears hurried and heavy footsteps across the second floor. Something tells him that the first meeting of Oliver Queen and Barbara Gordon is going to give him a headache. Figuratively, of course. When the man slowly makes his way down the grand staircase, he’s dressed in a strange green outfit with a hood attached. A quiver full of arrows is strapped around his back and his hand is clenched around a bow.

            “Green Arrow,” Gordon nods curtly when he reaches the foyer.

            Queen frowns at the name. Clark actually finds it quite fitting and wishes he could find a way to change his own name. Superman, really.

            “Are you planning on shooting me, Mr. Queen?” she asks coolly.

            “Well, you are breaking and entering,” he says quietly. “You’re Gordon.”

            “Yes.”

            “You’re the one that got her into this mess,” Queen says, his eyes flashing bits of rage. Gordon doesn’t look down from the hot gaze but her eyes do soften in Clark’s relief.

            “I heard she was injured. I’m so sorry.”

            “ _Injured_ ,” he spits, “You nearly goddamn killed her with the whole Smith business. You risked her life to suit _your_ own needs and purposes.”

            Barbara’s eyes harden.

            “That’s rich coming from you,” she says. At this, he freezes. “You take calculated risks, Mr. Queen. Under your watchful eye, you’re so certain that she’ll be safe and protected. But that’s not always true, is it?”

            “What do you want?” he says, his voice tight. Barbara looks up at the stairs, the concern showing despite her best intentions. Then she sighs.

            “I just came to make sure she’s all right. She’s my friend too,” she replies.

            Queen only stares down at her for a long moment. Then Laurel puts her hand on his arm and he turns his head to face her.

            “Ollie, she’s just worried about Felicity.”

            Barbara clears her throat, “I would like to see her when she wakes up. Would it be all right if I stay until she does? I can stay in the jet.”

            Everyone’s eyes are on Queen who just brings his hood down to reveal a tired but rigid expression.

            “Do whatever you want,” he says in a low voice and is about to head back upstairs when another man comes crashing into the foyer. Clark, Barbara, and Queen all tense up and whip their heads around to check out the potential threat. He’s a large African American man who has an incredibly worried look on his face.

            “Where’s Felicity? How is – whoa,” he says when he stops in his tracks. The man’s wide eyes are on Clark and Clark just looks down at him. “You. You saved her when she jumped…”

            He trails off, his mouth still opened in surprise. Queen sighs.

            “Dig, she’s okay,” he says. The man called Dig still seems to be in a daze when he looks away to face Queen. Queen nods toward the stairs and Dig’s eyes darken in understanding. He follows Queen up to see Felicity.

            “Okay then. I can set you both up in the guest bedrooms,” Laurel says disrupting the silence when both men disappear. Barbara clears her throat, her discomfort apparent.

            “That’s all right. I can sleep in the jet,” she says, putting her hands on the wheels. Clark frowns.

            “How did you come by a jet?” he asks. Barbara just grins.

            “It’s Batman’s. I begged him to lend me it,” she says.

            “Batman?” Clark and Laurel both say with furrowed eyebrows. Barbara just sighs as she looks at Clark.

            “I hope I can introduce you to him some day. Maybe _you_ can knock some sense into that man,” she mutters.

 

 

            Clark knocks lightly on the door. There’s no response as he expected and he gently twists the doorknob. The door creaks opens and both men glance at him. Queen barely acknowledges him and just looks back down at Felicity again, who’s lying underneath the covers. Even in the dark room with only the moonlight shining through the tiny crack of the curtains, she looks fragile and small in a king-sized bed. Dig is leaning against the tall bedpost while Queen sits in a chair beside the bed.

            Both men seem exhausted.

            “I could keep watch if you’re tired,” he says quietly stepping into the room. Dig just throws him a dirty glare and Queen doesn’t even bother to look up.

            “Of course. Sorry,” Clark says. He steps back to leave.

            “She asked me to join,” Queen says suddenly, his voice quite low.

            “I know,” Clark replies, taking this as permission to step closer towards the bed. He glances down at Felicity and a small smile appears across his lips as he remembers.

            “She was following me in Metropolis. She thought she was being furtive, but I saw her the entire time,” he continues, still looking down at her. “I told her no at first, but she waited for me until I got off of work. She said she had a hard time with taking a no for an answer.”

            He hears Dig chuckle slightly.

            “Sounds about right,” the man says.

            Clark thinks he sees a smile on Queen’s face as well, but it’s gone before he can check for sure.

            “Felicity told me that no matter how…” he chuckles again. “…super I am, I’m still one person. That it’s better to work as a team.”

            “So you’re really called Superman? That’s not just a nickname she gave you,” Dig asks, his eyebrow raised. Queen scowls up at his friend, but Dig just shrugs.

            “Yes, people call me that. It just happened. And I suppose you’re Green Arrow?” Clark asks Queen. The scowl doesn’t leave his face.

            “Just Arrow,” he says.

            “Right,” Clark says.

            “And I’m John Diggle. Arrow’s black driver, well, before he became dirt poor. Sorry, I don’t have a fancy codename,” Dig mutters.

            Clark looks around the room. The canopy bed, the large windows, the decorative curtains, and the mahogany vanity table don’t scream dirt poor to him, but he decides not to ask.

            “Nice to meet you, John,” he murmurs after he’s done scanning the room.

            “So will you join? It looks like you’re skilled in archery,” he speaks up again quietly after a moment’s pause.

            Queen leans over in his chair and puts his hand over Felicity’s. He rubs his thumb gently on her skin. The man swallows as he brushes the hair out of her eyes. Frowning at the glasses still perched on her nose, he carefully slips them off and then folds them before placing them on the nightstand. When he eases back into his chair with both hands on the armrests, Queen shuts his eyes.

            He doesn’t open them again and doesn’t speak. Clark takes this as a cue to leave, so he walks up to Felicity on the other side of the bed and gently touches her other hand in farewell. Dig nods his goodbye and Clark leaves the room. Before he shuts the door, he glances back to see Dig standing tall, feet apart, with both hands in his pockets as if he’s standing guard, and Queen leaning over in his chair, watching over her intently. The door closes on them quietly, leaving the two men in their silence.

 

* * *

 

 

 

            She sighs as she steps out of her car. She gently pushes the door shut and presses the button on her automatic key. The car beeps and the headlights blink on and off once. After rubbing her eyes, she walks across the parking garage, enjoying the sound of her heels on the concrete. When she steps in the elevator, she nods and smiles at the man inside. He bows his head slightly in respect and hovers his gloved hand over the buttons.

            “Good evening, ma’am,” the elevator man greets.

            “Hello, George. Thank you,” she says when he presses the topmost button that leads to the penthouse. “How are the kids?”

            George smiles as the elevator car starts gliding up.

            “Doing well, ma’am. My youngest is starting high school in the fall. I can’t believe it.”

            She chuckles.

            “Time flies by so fast.”

            “Too fast for me,” George says with a smile.

            She laughs, “Too fast for everyone, George.”

            When she laughs, she lets her dark hair shake out a little bit. She puts her hand to her temple and sighs.

            “Long day, ma’am?” George asks politely.

            “Isn’t it always?” she says. The door dings open and she smiles her goodbye after she steps out of the elevator. As she walks into the penthouse, she sheds her light jacket to reveal a red dress. She kicks off her shoes as she looks out the large window that makes up the entire wall. The view of the city lit up in the night is always so beautiful.

            “Jonas? I’m home. Where are you?” she calls out as she walks into the living room, her hands reaching up to her earlobes to take off the diamond earrings. She lets her hand graze across the top of the couch and heads into her husband’s office.

            She peeks her head in to see him hard at work behind his desk, his eyebrows furrowed behind his sharp reading glasses. She smiles.

            “Hey you,” she says. Jonas Godfrey glances up from his work and smiles back. She comes inside and walks over to stand beside him. He wraps his arm around her slender waist and she reaches down to kiss his head.

            “You’ve been gone a long time,” he murmurs. She chuckles as she reaches over to grab his glass of scotch. She sips and then makes a sour face.

            “I don’t know how you drink that all the time,” she says softly while her husband chuckles. “Mm, I told you I was going to be at a conference.”

            He pulls back to look at her in her dress. She laughs at his appreciation.

            “I dress to impress,” she says spreading her hands out as if to showcase her outfit.

            “I can see that,” he says. He gently pulls her down so that she is perched on his lap. She brings her arms around his neck.

            “Missed me?”

            He kisses her softly.

            “Do you even have to ask?”

            She pulls back with a smile, “You’re still working.”

            She gets off and pulls up a chair beside him to look at his computer screen, ignoring his disappointed groan. When she sees what’s on the screen, she sighs.

            “Project ORACLE again? Just leave Babs alone, Jonas. You give her so much grief.”

            “Clara, there are too many secrets at Wayne Enterprises. Especially in the Applied Sciences Division, which I happen to be head of. You know this,” he says taking off his reading glasses.

            “I do know,” she says.

            With a frustrated sigh, Jonas turns on the television. The screen snaps onto Channel 52 news. A reporter stands in front of the White House as she brings the microphone closer to her mouth.

            _“Lieutenant Daniel McCullough, who was arrested for his assassination attempt on President Horne, was found dead in prison this afternoon. The police has been suggesting that the prisoner committed suicide. Lieutenant McCullough attempted to assassinate the president during a private speech at an Air Force base in New Mexico three weeks ago. He was reported to be a brother of one of the pilots that were abandoned in the Middle East. Bethany Snow has more on that story. Bethany?”_

            Clara grabs the remote and turns off the television.  She remains silent just staring off at the dark screen where the reporter had just been a second ago. She looks up when her husband grabs her hand.

            “Hey,” he says gently.

            “Sorry,” she says quietly.

            “It’s about him, isn’t it?” he asks, searching her eyes. But she shuts down and looks at him coolly.

            “I don’t want to talk about it.” She gets up but Jonas tightens his grip.

            “Clara. Maybe it would be good to talk –”

            “Good to talk about the fact that my husband before you died because General Horne made the order to abandon him years ago too? We were never able to find his body, Jonas. I was widowed at age 21,” she snaps.

            “I’m sorry,” Jonas murmurs. He stands up and wraps his arm around her.

            “And now he’s President,” she whispers, shutting her eyes and resting her head on his shoulders.

            Jonas kisses her forehead, then her both of her eyes, and then gives her a chaste kiss on the lips. But before he can pull back, Clara covers his lips with hers and kisses him more deeply, the tears still clinging onto her long dark eyelashes. He tightens his grip on her again and they slowly make their way over to their bedroom, their lips never parting for more than a second or two. Clara lets out a deep sigh and closes her eyes when Jonas gently sets her down over the covers on their bed. When she opens her eyes again, she doesn’t see Jonas anymore, but him.

            So young, so handsome. Her husband leans down and smiles in that shy way.

            _“Hey, Claire-bear. Miss me?”_

A tear finally lets go and rolls down her cheek as he kisses her softly after flashing her a sheepish grin.

            _“Of course I miss you, Smith.”_

            Clara Godfrey sits up from the bed and looks over at her sleeping husband. She tousles his peppery hair with a grin. Then the grin quickly fades as she pulls her silk robe over her and ties it at the middle. She stands and walks out of the bedroom. The floor feels cool underneath her bare feet as she makes her way into her office. She flicks on the light to see a lone laptop resting on a relatively simple but elegant desk.

            Clara straightens her hair before taking a seat in front of the laptop. She wraps her robe around her a little tighter as she turns it on and opens the application that she wants. Before she clicks on the contact that she wants to video call, Clara reaches over and unlocks the first drawer on her desk. She opens it.

            The only item inside is a black mask.

            She slips the mask on, over her eyes and then stands up to close the curtains that cover the large window right behind her desk. Once she’s settled back into her chair, she calls her contact.

            When he answers, his image flickers onto her screen and she grins at his scowl.

            “You’re late,” he says.

            “I was busy,” she replies.

            “I’m sure,” he scoffs. “You failed to get the key code.”

            Her eyes harden, “I underestimated her.”

            “Well, good thing I was able to get it then,” he replies.

            She narrows her eyes. “What? How?”

            “I’m surprised at you, Smith. You’re normally on top of things. I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he murmurs with an annoying grin.

            “The election then, were you able to rig it?” she asks, ignoring his bait. He frowns but then leans back in his chair.

            “Yes, I am very thankful for the people of Gotham for voting my friend into Senate. I am also in debt to you for your well timed black out,” he smiles.

            She brings her feet up and brings her knees close to her chest.

            “We’re lucky there was a storm,” she replies.

            “Yes, I’m aware,” he says putting his hands together, fingertip to fingertip. He rests his chin atop the joined hands.

            “I’m surprised you’re not the one trying to run for President,” she says, her eyes glinting in amusement. He just smiles again.

            “Hmm. I think not.”

            She looks at the man closely, who’s still in his designer business suit. His paleness, the sharp lines of his nose, his jaws, and his cheeks, and that great shiny bald head of his – she admits, he would look good on a campaign poster.

            “I don’t know. President Alexander Luthor has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” she says.

            The man only chuckles.

            “Then perhaps someday,” he says.

            He smirks and Smith’s screen turns black.

 

* * *

 

 

            Felicity opens her eyes slowly to a dim elegant room. She breathes softly as she feels a dull pain in her shoulder. Her mouth feeling dry, Felicity tries to swallow but it hurts her throat instead. She feels odd, a little groggy, and she turns her head slightly to see a sight that makes her smile.

            Oliver has his head resting on the bed, with his fingers curled around hers, she notices. His back rises up slowly and then lowers back down in rhythm with his breath. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen Oliver sleep before – seen him unconscious, but never just asleep. It’s a nice sight, she thinks. Felicity squeezes his hand.

            His eyes flutter open and he looks confused and lost. But then his eyes focus on hers and he lifts his head up from the bed quickly.

            “Felicity,” he croaks. “You’re awake.”

            “Yeah,” she rasps out with a grin. She lets go of his hand and tries to sit up only to wince at the movement. Oliver puts his hand on her arm, lowering her back down onto the bed.

            “Not yet,” he says. She smiles though because at the higher angle she was able to see Dig, who is slumped over, on the floor, leaning against the wall in the corner of the bedroom. She can hear him snoring lightly. 

            “Poor Dig. You couldn’t get him a chair?” she whispers.

            Oliver looks guilty and rubs the back of his neck and pulls down.

            “I was a bit preoccupied,” he replies. He pauses and then speaks up. “Felicity –”

            “I know,” she interrupts softly.

            He frowns at her.

            “We have a lot to talk about.”

            She doesn’t respond however and only looks around the room.

            “So he did what I asked then,” she murmurs.

            Oliver frowns again in confusion. Felicity just smiles up at him.

            “Cl-Superman. I asked him to bring me here instead of the hospital. You know who I felt like?” she croaks.

            He grins.

            “I think you got the better deal. You got to fly your way over here. I was stuck in your tiny Mini Cooper.”

            Felicity nods, “The sky was so pretty. I’m getting used to it now. The flying.”

            She frowns when he falls silent and she turns her head to look at him. His red eyes are staring down at her and it makes her bite her bottom lip.

            “You scared me,” he says. “I know I put you in danger all the time, but seeing you like that in his arms, not knowing – not understanding what happened. I just –”

            Oliver stops talking and closes his eyes. When he opens them again, there’s a sense of resolve.

            “Your friends are here,” he says abruptly.

            “Oliver –” she starts.

            “Gordon and Superman are here,” he says more firmly.

            Felicity gasps.

            “ _Gordon’s_ here? You met her?” she says in a somewhat high pitched voice. Felicity takes note of his steely gaze and the stiffening of his jaw. She brings a hand to her head with a slight moan.

            “She’s quite…something,” Oliver says, his tone definitely disapproving.

            “Oh my God, Oliver. Don’t tell me you guys went at it while I was unconscious from being shot – sorry,” she says when he flinches at the word “shot.”

            Then she speaks up again while staring at the ceiling after a moment of silence.

            “I like her, Oliver, and I think you will too.”

            He only sighs and then grabs her hand. “We can talk about that later. I – I have something to tell you.”

            Felicity tears her eyes away from the ceiling and settle on Oliver. She swallows as he shifts his eyes up as if searching for the words to say. Felicity gives him a small smile to encourage him when he looks at her again. Then he finally opens his mouth.

            “Yes. I want to join, Felicity,” he says softly.

           

           

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely comments! I really appreciate the feedback. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

PART II

_Three Weeks Later_

 

 

_Present Day_

 

            Felicity is going to kill them both. Whoever speaks next will be the first one to go, she vows as she yanks the steering wheel to the left as she merges onto the highway. The semi trailer honks angrily as it flies past the company car and she curses under her breath as she adjusts the steering wheel.

            “Felicity! Use your signals,” Oliver says with a hint of irritation in his voice.

            So it’s going to be Oliver then. Just as she’s about to open her mouth – someone in the backseat speaks up.

            “You know, if you’d let me just take you guys, we would have been there six _hours_ ago,” Barry says, rubbing the back of his neck.

            Felicity rubs her eyes and looks straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge their presence anymore. She had barely been able to overcome her temptation to drive the car off a bridge forty five minutes ago. Felicity had eyed the sparkling body of water when Oliver told her that she gotten off the wrong exit when she knew she very well hadn’t.

            Oliver shakes his head and scowls.

            “That is never going to happen,” he says, finally leaning back in his seat. Barry shrugs and glances up at the rearview mirror. She knows he’s trying to get her attention, but she just ignores him. Personally, Felicity is grateful that Oliver refused point blank to be carried in Barry’s arms so that he could run them both to Coast City within seconds. Not that she would admit it to either one of them. Flying, she’s getting the hang of. Whatever Barry’s doing, however, she’s not sure her stomach could handle it and throwing up on either Green Arrow or the Flash is not an option.

            “If you’re afraid of high speeds, Oliver, it gets bett-” Barry starts while she lets out a quiet groan. She doesn’t even have to sneak a peek at Oliver to know that he’s gritting his teeth and shooting glares over his shoulder.

            “I’m _not_ afraid,” he says warningly and Barry quickly glances out his window. “Going by car gives us time to plan –”

            “Plan? Don’t we just go up to him and ask him to join the Justice League?” Barry says and then he frowns. “Why do we call it the Justice League again? It’s kind of a mouthful.”

            Felicity lets out a pent up breath and it actually blows some of her hair out of her eyes. She misses the early days when it was just her and the poor soul that she’d convince to sign his or her life away with the Justice League.

            When Gordon gave Felicity her new assignment during her visit to the Queen mansion, where Felicity had been staying throughout her recovery period, Oliver barged into the living room and insisted that he was coming with.

            “What?” Felicity said, looking up at him from the couch. Gordon just put her right arm on her armrest with a sigh. Oliver glared down at Felicity’s shoulder and she swore that it twitched under the weight of his stare.

            “I’m coming with you,” he repeated in a low voice and stalked out of the room without greeting Gordon. Both women watched him until he was out of their sight and then Gordon shook her head.

            “So charming,” she said drily.

            Felicity glared at her.

            “He’s a picnic compared to Bruce Wayne,” she retorted.

            Gordon had no response.

            Felicity can feel Oliver’s eyes on her as she changes lanes. After a moment’s silence, she can’t handle it anymore and opens her hands against her steering wheel in frustration.

            “ _What_? I used my signals,” she says. She can see Barry wince slightly and looks out his window again, suddenly finding the traffic interesting. Oliver just sucks in a breath and rubs his eyebrow with his thumb.

            “ _What_ , Oliver,” Felicity grinds out as she presses harder on the accelerator.

            “You have to admit, it’s kind of a stupid name,” he says opening up his hand with the slightest of a shrug.

            Felicity takes in a deep breath and starts counting down. She sees Oliver exchanging glances with Barry through Oliver’s side mirror.

            “She’s counting down from five this time. Is that bad?” Barry asks Oliver quietly.

            Felicity’s eyes narrow and her nostrils flare as she yanks the steering wheel again and drives over three lanes to the right in one move. Oliver curses under his breath as he clutches onto the handle hanging from the top of the car and Barry’s body flings over to the side. She comes to an abrupt stop on the shoulder of the highway.

            “Felicity!” Oliver shouts.

            Once the barrage of honking and the flipping of middle fingers from the other drivers comes to a stop, Felicity twists her body so that she is facing them both.

            “Shut up,” she growls deeply. “Shut. Up. Both of you. I am about _this_ close to blowing up your phones – and I mean it in the literal sense. So if I were you, I’d keep them out of your front pockets.”

            Barry quickly fumbles around in his jeans, pulls out his phone, and then tosses it to the other side of the backseat while still looking at Felicity nervously throughout the entire process. Oliver only leans back towards his window, but she can see a slight smile, the kind he usually saves for when he’s proud of her.

            “Barry, you’re just going to have to deal with the fact that we’re driving to Coast City. If you’re so hung up on it, feel free to get out and we’ll meet you there. It might be a few hours. Oliver, you backseat drive one more time, I _will_ lock you in a closet with Gordon and leave you to fend for yourself. So, please. Just – shut it.”

            The two men turn so that they’re facing the front and lean back in their seats slightly shamefaced. Felicity pulls the gear out of park and into drive and checks over her shoulder to see if any cars are coming. Quite purposefully, she doesn’t use her turn signal as she merges back in with the traffic.

            “And the Justice League is _not_ stupid,” she mutters.

 

 

_Three days ago_

            “You have to take the Allen kid,” Gordon hissed when Felicity walked into the basement after finally moving back to her hotel suite in Gotham. Felicity looked over Gordon to see Barry excitedly typing on a keyboard, scanning his eyes over the giant screen in front of him.

            “What? Why?” Felicity whispered. Gordon ran her fingers through her hair, a bit frizzier than normal, which made the woman look slightly wild or crazed.

            “He’s been here ever since you recruited him, asking thousands of questions, going through our databases, looking for some – he keeps calling them metahumans. He’s driving me crazy, Smoak, and I’m going to end up killing him. Then Lucius will have to fire me. Take him with you to Coast City,” Gordon said with gritted teeth while at the same time throwing glances over her shoulder to make sure that Barry didn’t touch anything important.

            Felicity narrowed her eyes.

            “I have to take both Oliver and Barry now? Are you serious, Gordon?”

            Gordon put both hands up in the air.

            “I had nothing to do with your boyfriend. Don’t – shut up, Smoak. You’re taking him. That’s final - oh my God, he’s looking at the Martian – Allen! Stop right there!” Gordon called out quickly and wheeled towards him. Felicity furrowed her eyebrows and mouthed to herself, _Martian?_

            Barry nearly tripped over his own two feet as he scrambled out of the way before Gordon could bowl him over with her chair. He rubbed his arms slightly while sputtering out his apologies.

            “Sorry, I didn’t mean to – is that like classified?”

            “Out!” Gordon just yelled, pointing her index finger towards the exit.

            Barry shuffled towards Felicity and she grinned at him as she patted him on the back as he passed by.

            “Come on, let’s get some food. They just opened up a Big Belly Burger on Anderson,” Felicity said lightly. As they both walked through the doors, Barry kept throwing nervous glances back.

            “She hates me. She’s going to fire me from the league.”

            Felicity shook her head.

            “Nope. Gordon doesn’t hate you. In fact, she just gave you your first assignment. You’re coming with me and Oliver to Coast City. It’s time to bring in Green Lantern.”

            She could only laugh at the wonder in his widening eyes.

 

 

_Five Days Ago_

            “Come on, Felicity. Keep your feet apart,” Diggle said while shuffling his feet on the mat. Felicity just glared at him while she moved her left foot farther out. 

            “Better?” she huffed while wiping the sweat out of her eyes. Just then, Diggle lunged forward and twisted himself to bring Felicity down to the mat. However, he kept a hand behind her back to make sure she wouldn’t go down too hard. Still, Felicity let out a small breath of exhaustion.

            “You have to be aware at all times. They’ll catch you off guard,” Diggle said as he reached down to help her up. Felicity groaned and gingerly rolled back her shoulder.

            “Diggle, can’t I just do what I normally do?” she asked after taking a sip of water from the bottle her sparring partner gave her. He looked at her incredulously.

            “The head smash is all fine and good until you end up with a concussion,” Diggle replied while taking a drink from his own bottle. A beep from the computers caught their attention. Felicity walked over to check her alerts while Diggle wiped his face with a towel.

            “What is it?” he asked.

            “Bank robbery,” she sighed as she reached over for her phone. “That’s twice in one week.”

            As Felicity dialed to get ahold of Oliver, she could feel Diggle’s eyes on her and she raised an eyebrow in his direction. However, he only smiled and leaned over so that he could see the information on the screen as well.

            “Hey,” Oliver answered after a few rings.

            “Another bank robbery on Halsted and Cicero. How fast can you get there?” she asked while peering at the screen.

            “I’ll be right there. Getting my bike now. I’ll call you,” he answered.

            “Okay,” she said before she hung up. She could still see Diggle grinning out of the corner of her eye and Felicity finally put her hand on her hip.

            “What?” she asked. Diggle slowly looked away from the computer and shrugged before crossing his arms.

            “It’s like old times,” he commented. “I’ve missed it, and I know he has too. It’s not the same without you here, Felicity.”

            She gave him a small grin. The week before, she had demanded that Oliver let her back in the lair after being cooped up in the Queen Mansion for so long. It was as if Felicity had never left in the first place and she spent a week or so fighting crime in Starling City from behind the safety of her computer screens.

            “What, you mean, you miss my babbling and ill-timed sexual innuendos?” she asked.

            Diggle chuckled. “I’ve especially missed the babbling. The innuendos, you’ll have to ask Oliver.”

            She blushed and punched his arm before telling him to shut up. Her phone rang right after.

            “Yup,” Felicity answered.

            “I’m at the bank. Talk to me,” said Oliver.

 

 

_Seven Days Ago_

            Felicity yelped when she heard a loud thud on the roof of the Queen Mansion in the middle of the night. She threw the covers off of her and got out of bed to run for the door only for Oliver to kick it open with a bow and arrow ready in his hands.

            She put up both of her hands with wide eyes.

            “It’s not here,” she said. Oliver quickly turned around still keeping the bow in position and Felicity tip toed behind him. They crept along the hallway until there was a loud knock at the front door making Felicity jump and gasp loudly. Oliver threw her a look before lowering the bow and ran down the stairs.

            He opened the door to find Superman on the front steps.

            “Cl-Superman!” Felicity called out happily, quickly running down the stairs as well to reach the foyer. Oliver, however, seemed less than happy.

            “You landed on my _roof_?” he growled.

            Superman looked slightly apologetic. “Sorry, a bird came out of nowhere. I misjudged my landing. I’ll pay for the damages.”

            Then Superman grinned when he caught sight of Felicity and nearly lost his balance as Felicity threw her arms around him. He wrapped one arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze. When she stepped back, she pulled him inside only barely noticing the clenching of Oliver’s jaw. However, she and Superman didn’t notice the slight bang when Oliver shut the door.

            “What are you doing here?” Felicity asked looking up at the man.

            “In the middle of the night,” Oliver added, crossing his arms and walking around to plant himself next to Felicity.

            “Barbara wanted to send along a message,” Superman said, his voice deeper and more serious. Felicity frowned.

            “She couldn’t have just called?” she asked.

            “Barbara thought it might be better not to relay important information through phones or electronically. Smith…” Superman trailed off, glancing at Felicity for any reaction, but she gave him none.

            “What is it?” Oliver asked with a trace of concern in his voice as he stepped in, closing the circle.

            “The key code. Batman decided to give it back to the U.S. military but he just found out that he gave it to an imposter,” Superman replied. Oliver shut his eyes and put his hands to his head in frustration while Felicity just opened her mouth slightly.

            “W-what? Why did Batman –”

            Superman sighed. “Barbara said that he thought it was for the best, but he’s definitely regretting it now. I don’t really know much about him or his situation.”

            Felicity closed her eyes only imagining the grief the billionaire was probably putting himself through.

            “So for all we know, Smith has the key code and the microprocessors,” she said, feeling a headache coming on. Felicity rubbed her right temple. “Okay, let me pack my things and I –”

            “Whoa, whoa. Hey,” Oliver said in a low voice, grabbing her elbow as she moved to go upstairs. Superman cleared his throat.

            “Barbara told me that you’re to stay here for now and get some rest. I think she’s right,” he said with a small smile. Felicity pulled away from Oliver’s grasp and stepped closer to Superman.

            “But the decryption device, I was able to copy the data from her phone. If I can just help Gordon look, maybe we can find out more about her plan,” she appealed in frustration.

            He only met her gaze as he looked down at her with kind eyes.

            “You can work on it here. You’ll be ready soon enough to go back to Gotham,” Superman replied and then chuckled. “Besides she has her hands full with your little friend.”

            Felicity squinted. “My little friend?”

            Superman looks up as if to conjure up a name, “Barry, I think?”

            “ _Barry’s_ in the Justice League? _He_ knew about this before I did?” Oliver burst out, whipping around to glare at Felicity. She backed away from him slightly, looking to Superman for some assistance. She received none.

            “I – well, he woke up with superpowers. He can run really, really fast. Like speeding bullet fast. So I just thought – why not?” Felicity stammered, her voice getting higher after every word. Then after a pause, she added, “I asked you eventually!”

            Oliver just continued to glare. Superman smiled and then turned to leave. Felicity broke her gaze away from Oliver and called out to the retreating figure.

            “Wait! Are you going back to Metropolis?”

            Superman turned back slightly. “Yes. If you or Barbara need me, just give me a call.”

            “I will,” Felicity said, not quite sure why she was feeling a little breathless as Superman put his hand on her good shoulder gently. Maybe it was the fact that she knew that he was very intentional about not applying any pressure or force or maybe it was the way he stepped out the front door and shot up into the air, his cape billowing out behind him.

            Felicity startled when Oliver closed the door suddenly, jarring her from her thoughts. He turned around to face her and stepped in closer to her.

            “You should get some sleep,” he said quietly and then walked past her, his arm just barely brushing up against hers. He went up the stairs and didn’t seem to hear her when she whispered goodnight.

 

 

_Sixteen Days Ago_

            Felicity awoke to muffled sounds of yelling and she blinked, getting her eyes used to the dark room. She winced when her shoulder gave a twinge as she carefully got out of bed. After putting on her sling, Felicity yawned and left the room.

            “Ollie, you can’t make me stay!” Laurel shouted, her voice starting to hitch. Felicity frowned as she looked over the railings of the staircase to see Laurel by the front door with a duffel bag sitting at her feet. She was all dressed ready to go, while Oliver stood there with his arms crossed in a grey t-shirt and sweatpants.

            “This is insane, Laurel. You can’t just fly to Tibet to look for Sara,” Oliver replied, forcing himself to calm down.

            “Why not?” Laurel asked, her eyes blazing. “Why can’t I go looking for the only family I have left? I’m telling you – something’s wrong. She stopped sending me postcards a few days before Dad – before he passed. Something must have happened to her.”

            “And how are you going to look for her? You’re going to ask around people for a woman in black leather and blonde hair?” Oliver said rubbing his eyes. The woman, however, looked at him in defiance.

            “If I have to.”

            Felicity quietly made her way down the stairs and they both looked up. They quickly stepped back a little from each other and Laurel cast her eyes away from them both. Felicity rubbed her arms as she stepped closer to them.

            “You should go,” Felicity said in a low voice while looking at Laurel. The other woman turned to face her with disbelief and hope in her eyes. Oliver clenched his jaws.

            “ _Felicity_. She’s going to get herself killed!”

            “You don’t know that,” Felicity responded.

            Oliver ran his hand through his hair. “The League of Assassins is not something to be messed with –”

            Felicity looked up at him. “I know. Nyssa and her friends attacked Wayne Manor at our company party. I…talked with her.”

            “What?” Laurel said with a gasp. Felicity faced her again.

            “Laurel, Sara…she wasn’t with her. Nyssa wouldn’t tell me where she was.”

            They both stared at Felicity for a moment. Then without a word, Laurel picked up the duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder. As she made her way to open the front door, Oliver grabbed her arm.

            “Don’t do this. We can try to look for her from here. There’s got to be a better way,” he pleaded. She shook her head.

            “I’m sorry, Ollie. I have to do this.”

            She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek softly. Then she looked back at Felicity and smiled before leaving the mansion. Oliver and Felicity stood there as they watched her get into her car and drive away into the night.

            “She needs this, Oliver,” Felicity said softy still staring off at the night sky. When she felt his eyes on her, she tore her eyes from the stars. He was leaning against the doorway, looking almost broken.

            “Hey,” she whispered worriedly.

            “What about you? Do you need this?” he asked, his voice cracking.

            Felicity stood there, not sure what to say. After a moment, Oliver closed his eyes and opened them again, only to nod in resignation. With both hands in his pockets, he walked away.

_Present Day_

            “Okay, his name is Hal Jordan. He’s a pilot at Ferris Aircraft. He’s been calling himself Green Lantern, I don’t know why – it’s sort of a weird name. We’ll just wait here until he’s done with work –” Felicity says glancing between the two men.

            “Or we could just go in now and ask to speak to him,” Oliver interrupts, putting his hand on the door handle. Felicity grabs his arm quickly.

            “Wait, Oliver. That’s not how – you’re the one who said we needed to plan! We can’t just go in there!” she hisses. However, he doesn’t respond and only tugs his arm gently out of her grasp. He then gets out of the car and closes the door. Felicity can only gape at him as he makes his way into the hangar.

            “Um, should we follow him?” Barry asks after a beat. Felicity shakes out of it and climbs out of the car.

            “Oh my God, Oliver Queen, I swear, you are the most infuriating –” she hisses as she follows after him, her heels clicking angrily against the pavement. Felicity yelps as a streak of wind passes by her and she grabs hold of her dress so that it doesn’t fly up. Oliver glares as it passes by him too and Barry stops abruptly six feet away from them.

            “Come on, you guys,” he says with a wide grin on his face. Felicity only grumbles as she catches up with Oliver and when she nearly trips on a crack, Oliver grabs her by the elbow.

            “Careful,” he murmurs.

            She glowers at him in response and jerks away, walking past him. Feeling slightly bad when she hears him following her with quiet steps, she slows down so that they are walking side by side again. They come to an open area where Barry is already waiting for them and Felicity spies a tall woman talking with a man who is completely bald. They’re both dressed in business attire. The woman whips around when she hears Barry accidentally bump into a cabinet and narrows her eyes.

            “You aren’t supposed to be in here. This is private property,” she says as she walks over to them. The man looks on with interest and he follows. Felicity swallows.

            “I’m sorry, there wasn’t anyone by the offices – we’re here to talk with Hal Jordan. Is he here?” she asks.

            “What do you want with Hal Jordan?” the woman asks, her eyebrow arching high.

            Felicity glances at the woman and then at Oliver nervously.

            “We, uh, that’s kind of –”

            “That’s our own business, thank you. Is Mr. Jordan busy right now?” Oliver asks firmly, stepping forward. The woman puts her hand on her hip.

            “He’s test piloting one of our planes. I’ll tell him you all stopped by,” she responds with a tone of dismissal. Oliver opens his mouth again only to be interrupted as the bald man steps closer with a congenial smile.

            “Carol, I believe we’re speaking with Mr. Oliver Queen,” he says while putting out a hand. Oliver takes it hesitantly and shakes it firmly.  The woman called Carol cocks her head.

            “Oliver Queen of Queen Consolidated?” she asks with more interest. Oliver smiles.

            “Not anymore,” he says with charm. Felicity sees him settling into this persona yet again with surprising ease. The bald man nods with sympathy.

            “Yes, I heard about that. My apologies. My name is Lex Luthor, CEO of an aerospace engineering firm called LexCorp. Perhaps, you’ve heard of it?” he asks.

            Oliver shakes his head slightly, “I’m sorry, Mr. Luthor – I haven’t –”

            “You’re Lex Luthor?” Barry interrupts with wide eyes. “You own like three airlines.”

            All eyes are on Barry and he bites his bottom lip. “Sorry, that’s just what I read in Forbes.”

            Luthor smiles at him, “Well, actually only two, but yes. That’s me.”

            He turns his attention to Oliver again however and pulls out his wallet. Felicity frowns when he takes out an business card with two fingers and hands it to Oliver.

            “I’m in the process of building up another branch in Starling City. Now that you’re out of a job, perhaps you’d be interested in getting involved. I would love to have you.”

            Oliver takes it with uncertainty.

            “I’m not very well versed in aerospace engineering, Mr. Luthor.”

            “Please, call me Lex. With some experience, I’m certain you will be quite an asset to LexCorp. Give me a call sometime,” he says with a note of finality and then he turns to the other woman. “Carol, thank you for meeting with me. I’ll see you soon.”

            As the man turns to go, he does something strange. The entire time, he hadn’t looked at Felicity once but he gives her a tiny wink that no one else notices before he leaves the hangar. Something about that act gives her slight chills and she rubs her arms. Carol sighs and points to a few chairs lined up against the wall.

            “You can wait here until he comes back,” she says before walking off to another room attached to the hangar.

            Oliver and Barry both take a seat but Felicity stands there, still feeling a little odd.

            “Felicity,” Oliver says and she turns at his voice. He frowns.

            “What’s wrong?” he asks. Felicity stares at the exit again.

            “Nothing,” she mutters.

 

 

            A handsome man saunters into the hangar in a pilot’s uniform with a definite smirk on his face. He looks around and when Carol comes out of the room with some papers in her hands, he grins and whoops. He wraps his arm around her and swings her around while she yelps, clutching tightly onto the papers.

            “Did you see that, Carol? Did you _see_ that?” he asks still with a wide grin when he finally lets go of her. She scowls but Felicity swears there’s a little twinkle in the woman’s eyes.

            “Yes, you almost blew up the plane, Hal! You’re supposed to test it, not total it!”

            Hal Jordan rolls his eyes.

            “But I didn’t. And you were more worried about the plane than me? Gee thanks.” 

            Carol rolls the paper up and taps the end of it on his chest. “That _plane_ is worth a million dollars.”

            Hal chuckles, “Well, now you know it’s a million dollars well spent.”

            She glares at him, “You’re impossible, you know that, Hal? There are some people here to see you.”

            Carol walks into the room again and slams the door shut. Hal winces and scratches the back of his head as he walks over to them. All three stand up at once, but Felicity steps forward with a smile.

            “Hi, my name is Felicity Smoak. This is – um, these are my associates, Barry Allen and Oliver Queen. We just wanted to talk to you about some things.”

            The man smiles and Felicity can’t help but notice his dimples. He motions them to follow him as he walks to the other side of the hangar to another room. Felicity and Oliver exchange looks before they follow his lead. When he opens the door, she sees right away that this is a locker room and smothers a gasp when he unzips his uniform straight down. When he steps out of the outfit, she can see the muscles swelling against his white undershirt and his boxers.

            He grins at her while he pulls his jeans out of his locker.

            “We can talk in here. More private, don’t you think?” he says. Oliver looks up at the ceiling in slight irritation and Barry just looks amused.

            Felicity forces her blush away and tries to look only at the man’s eyes.

           “Right. Um, we’re from Wayne Enterprises – uh, sort of – wow, you’re taking your shirt off – um, okay. I mean, we’re from Project ORACLE and we’ve been gathering a group of people who are…talented such as yourself – to deal with…” Felicity tries not to stare at his chiseled abs. “…bad guys.”

            He frowns at her.

            “What are you talking about?” he asks as he hops to put his jeans on.

            She sighs and just blurts out, “We know you’re Green Lantern.”

            Hal, who was in the process of getting his t-shirt over his head, stops what he’s doing. Felicity steps back cautiously, unable to see his face due to his t-shirt. Then he slowly rolls the shirt down and she sees his eyes flashing.

            “How?” he says quietly. She shrugs nervously.

            “I’m a hacker? Listen, Oliver and Barry are part of the Justice League, that’s what we’re calling it and so is Superman. I don’t know if you watch the news or anything –” Felicity says quickly. He frowns.

            “The blue guy with the red cape. He’s in your club?”

            “League,” she corrects quietly but then backs up into Barry. She jabs him with her elbow. “Show him your thing.”

            Barry frowns. “What?”

            Felicity turns around in frustration, “Please, Barry. Just show him.”  

            Barry goes from one side of the locker room to the other in less than a second and her hair goes slightly wild from the wind. Oliver sighs beside her, running his hand through his hair.

            “He’s got powers like you. We’re bringing people together to fight crime, and trust me, there’s going to be a lot of bad things happening,” Felicity says quietly, her stomach churning at the thought of Smith.

            “We want you to join,” Oliver says, putting a hand on her shoulder while looking at Hal.

            With all eyes on him, Hal pulls out a ring from his locker and slips it on. Then he slams the locker door shut and the clang echoes around the room. He throws them all a grin.

            “You guys hungry?”

 

 

            “So you’re saying that all you have to do is _think_ about what you want and the ring will construct it for you?” Barry asks, chewing on his fries. Hal takes a swig of his Coke and nods while glancing down at his ring.

            “Yup. It’s pretty handy,” he says.

            Felicity looks around the nearly empty diner as she wipes her hands on a napkin. She has to admit, while it’s no Big Belly Burger, that was pretty good. She looks over onto Oliver’s plate – he’s barely touched anything. He’s staring at Hal who’s busy taking a big bite of his burger across from him.

            “So what about you, tough guy?” Hal says after swallowing. “You got any powers?”

            “No, he just puts arrows into people,” Felicity responds and then adds quickly, “Without killing them.”

            Oliver says nothing and just looks out through the large windows beside them. Hal nods slowly, eyeing Oliver with interest.

            “Huh. Cool.”

            Oliver stiffens as he continues to stare out the window. Felicity frowns.

            “What is it?”

            As she turns to face Oliver, who’s sitting closest to the window, her mouth drops as she sees a blue Mercedes flying straight at them, about to hit the glass. She shrieks as Oliver throws himself over her and shoves her to the floor, breathing hard. The glass shattering reminds her of her recent car crash and she gasps, her fingers clawing at the ground. The glass showers over them and the car spins in the air at least twice and Felicity expects to hear a large crash.

            But she hears nothing but gasps and small cries from the diner staff. Oliver lifts himself off of her and helps her sit up. Then they look up in awe at the car suspended in midair tied up in a circle of green light. Felicity turns her head to see Hal dressed in a green outfit with a mask, his ring out, green light shining out of it. Barry has two waitresses in his arms at the far side of the room. He’s also gazing up at the car.

            Hal grunts and pulls his ring back, the car moving slowly.

            “Hal,” Felicity croaks, standing up.

            Green Lantern swings his ring slightly, his eyes focused. The car tumbles out of the broken windows and lands upside down in between two parked cars right beside the sidewalk. The fire hydrant, hit by the Mercedes, explodes and water sprays everywhere. Hal flies out the window in midst of the spray.

            Oliver grabs Felicity’s arms, looks at her, and says, “Stay here.”

            He grabs a bag beside their table and runs towards the restrooms. Felicity looks around the diner, still in a daze, but Barry is no where to be found. Then suddenly, she sees a red streak fly past her and through the broken glass. She swallows and with unsteady legs, climbs out as well, hearing pedestrians scream and running through the streets. She covers her face with her arm to protect herself from all the water still spewing out of the fire hydrant.

            “Sinestro! Stop!” Hal roars as he shoots up into the sky. There’s a figure dressed in a yellow uniform, very similar to Green Lantern’s, floating in the air. She squints. His face is…

            There’s no time to check and Felicity ducks when a yellow light cracks towards her like a whip. It just misses her and it latches onto another car. The car creaks as it’s lifted up into the air and slung across so that it’s targeting a group of people huddled about twenty feet away.

            The Flash whirs himself into what seems to be a tornado and catches the car in the funnel. Then he slams himself and the car down to the ground, just a few inches away from the group.

            “Run!” he shouts to them when he whirs the car off of him. Felicity looks up at the sky and she sees flashes of green and yellow light battling against each other, taking on different forms. But that’s not what’s worrying her. She backs up as she sees five other men dressed in yellow, marching towards them.

            “O-Oliver,” she gasps, backing towards the diner. Felicity grunts when she feels a strong arm wrap around her waist. Automatically, she brings her arm around him, holding on tightly as Green Arrow fires his arrow towards a building. The arrow hooks onto a crevice and the rope attached twangs as it gets taut.

            They swing to the other side of the street and both land on their feet next to Barry.

            “I don’t think they have powers,” Felicity says breathlessly, flickering her eyes between all five men, who start running towards them. She grabs her decryption device and then quickly types on it.

            “Give me your phones quick,” she mutters, putting her hands out. Barry and Oliver both give her what she wants. Then Barry runs full speed ahead at the men, knocking three of them down. Arrows whip through the sky, sparks flying as they hit the cars next to two of the men. The trick arrows go off and the men cry out as they get thrown off their feet.

            She gasps when she hears other footsteps, another group of men dressed in yellow coming from a different direction.

            “Who are these guys?” she says with gritted teeth, as she throws one of the phones at them. There’s a sound of an electric zap and two go down.

            “What was that?” Oliver murmurs as he swings his bow towards them while planting himself beside Felicity.

            “New trick,” she replies.

             He grins as he lets go of another arrow. He then abandons his bow as he gets ready to fight within close quarters. With quick steps, he uses the wall as a launching pad and slams both his feet into one of the men. Another one sprints right past him, gunning for Felicity.

            “Feet apart,” she mutters to herself. She sticks her foot out, leans in and uses her leverage to jab the man in his side with her elbow, and throws him over her body, grunting with the effort. He crashes against the brick wall and crumples to the ground. Felicity stares down at him in shock.

            “Oh my God, it worked,” she whispers.

            She blinks when she sees a fist coming straight for her face. A green arm twists around the fist and the man in yellow howls as Oliver uses his elbows and knees to methodically bring him down to the ground.

            “Felicity, we have to get out of here,” he says with gritted teeth, glancing at Barry, who’s making short work of the men. Still, more men come. “There’s too many of them.”

            “Do they remind you of Slade’s men at all?” she asks in a low voice as she tosses another phone, not even wincing at the zapping sound and the slight smell of burnt hair.

            But Oliver can’t answer as a yellow light comes out of nowhere to wrap itself around his waist. He’s thrust up into the air as he struggles against the strain of the light.

            “Oliver!” Felicity shouts, looking up at his squirming figure. She barely notices when two men grab her by the arms and only lets out a small whimper when her shoulder twinges due to the force. She flings her head back, ignoring Dig’s voice warning her about the concussions, and one of her arms is free. A gust of wind knocks her and her attacker back and she’s able to crawl away from him. Someone helps her up, and she sees that it’s Barry. They both look up in horror.

            Oliver rises higher into the air and without his bow and arrow, he seems so helpless, his body contorted against the light as he tries to get out from its grasp in vain. Felicity’s heart stops when Hal throws a massive green fist at Sinestro. The man in yellow at that very moment swings Oliver so that he comes between the green fist and Sinestro.

            “No!” Hal yells and pulls his ring up.

            But it’s too late.

            Felicity gasps as she sees the green light about to hit Oliver, terrified by the momentum of the fist even from down on the street. Oliver stares at the fist straight on and then closes his eyes in defeat.

            “OLIVER!” Felicity screams.

            She looks away, just as its about to make contact, and can only sob when she hears a loud crash.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking with this story!

            Felicity draws in shaky breaths, her entire body trembling against her will. It takes awhile for her to feel the urgent tug on her arm and she slowly looks up at Barry, whose eyes are warm with excitement.

            “Felicity, he’s okay! Look!” he exclaims, pointing up at the clear blue sky.

            She follows the trajectory of his index finger and puts her hand to her mouth as she sees Wonder Woman floating in front of Oliver, who is still entangled up in the light. She has a few dark strands of hair out of place – the only evidence that she took the major brunt of the attack. With a roar, Wonder Woman charges at Sinestro and throws a punch that cracks like sharp thunder. The force of her fist makes Sinestro lose his concentration and the light wrapped around Oliver falters.

            Oliver pinwheels downward and Felicity gasps before registering the familiar gust of wind that rushes forward to catch him. Barry grunts as Oliver lands on top of him and they both crumple to the ground. Felicity runs towards them and grabs Oliver’s arm. When his body is lifted from Barry, Barry lets out a breath and stands as well.

            “Oliver –” Felicity says, still hanging on to him.

            “I’m okay. I’m okay. Barry –” Oliver whips around to find the young man. Barry lifts a hand.

            “I’m fine,” he croaks and immediately turns around to look up at the sky.

            “What the hell?” Oliver says, his fists clenching as they watch Wonder Woman throw punches left and right. She dodges Sinestro’s yellow constructs or takes it on full force when she needs to and she shows no signs of exhaustion.

            “Meet Wonder Woman,” Felicity murmurs.

            Green Lantern flits about, trying to intervene when he can but Sinestro and the woman have forgotten all about him.

            “I – lady! Can I help you with anything?” he calls out, his back to Sinestro. The man in yellow uses this moment to attack him and Wonder Woman quickly tosses her lasso around Hal to pull him out of the way.

            “I’m feeling useless in a fight against _my_ nemesis, and I think you’re gorgeous. Do you want to grab a drink after this?” he says, his eyes widening as the words come tumbling out. When the rope slips off of him, he furrows his eyebrows. “What…did I just say?”

            Oliver’s eyes narrow as he twists around to see Sinestro’s men regrouping in the street and starting to advance towards the three of them. He backs up a few steps while facing the men, putting one arm in front of Felicity to make sure she stays behind him.

            “Barry,” he says in a low voice. Barry tears his eyes away from the sky and then gets into position as well.

            “Jordan! We could use some help here!” Oliver hollers. He looks at his bow lying on the ground a few feet away and exchanges a look with the Flash. In a split second, Barry retrieves it for him and Oliver, in one fluid motion, readies his bow and arrow.

            “Felicity, get out of here,” he says with gritted teeth, pulling the arrow back steadily.

            She looks around the deserted street with broken windows and dented cars as far as her eyes can see. Her heart sinks when she sees the company car completely totaled.

            “There really isn’t anywhere I can go,” she mutters. He shoots a glare at her.

            “Felicity!” he snaps. At this moment, he lets go of the arrow and it explodes when it lands by one of the men’s feet. Just as she’s about to sprint away from the action, she yelps when Hal scoops her up, holding on to her waist with one arm.

            “What the hell are you doing?” Felicity chokes out, holding onto him tightly as he swoops along the street, Oliver and Barry now further away.

            “Keeping you safe and gaining back some of my pride,” Hal mutters as he constructs a massive green tree trunk that knocks over several men in one swing.

            “Who are these guys?” Felicity asks as she observes the arrows flying in the air and the red streak bouncing off men as if in a pinball machine.

            “Sinestro building his own corps – dismally, I might add,” Hal says while peering down at the street. He watches Oliver get swarmed by the men and then shouts. “Hey, Green Archer!”

            “Arrow,” she murmurs.

            “Green Arrow!” he corrects himself. “Need a ride?”

            Oliver glances over his shoulder to see a green circle zooming towards him. With a grunt, he jumps on, regains his balance, and then starts shooting as the circle hovers above the ground, giving him an advantage. He lets go of one arrow aiming at the man about to attack Barry and the Flash nods his thanks before he continues his work.

            Then there’s a large boom above them and Felicity opens her mouth in awe. Wonder Woman barely pants as she stares at Sinestro who was just flung into one of the towers that seems to be going under construction. He’s stuck in the concrete and steel beams, the cracks in the concrete zigzagging away from his body. His men seem to sense that this battle is lost and they all flee from the streets.

            Barry whoops, pumping his fist into the air while Oliver is lowered onto the ground gently. He hops off and grins at the Flash. The grin disappears as he looks up at Sinestro, however, who has pried himself from the tower.

            “You bitch!” Sinestro growls at Wonder Woman as he lunges forward.

            Oliver lets loose his last arrow. The arrow whips through the air and hits Sinestro in the shoulder. He snarls as he pulls it out of him as if it’s a mere annoyance. He looks down at Oliver.

            “You think an arrow – ” However, the arrow interrupts by way of explosion and he screams. Then in pain, Sinestro zooms off, barely a pinprick in the sky.

            Felicity closes her eyes in relief, nearly letting go of Hal in the process. He tightens his grip around her and drops in altitude until he touches down next to Barry and Oliver. She steps out with slightly unsteady legs.

            “He’s gone?” she whispers, scanning the sky.

            “Yeah, sorry about that. He sort of has a vendetta –” Hal stops when Wonder Woman lands in front of them. Oliver steps forward with a grateful nod.

            “Thank you,” he says, sticking out a hand. Wonder Woman pauses before she grasps it and shakes it firmly. Judging by the tiny wince, Felicity guesses it hurt Oliver more than he expected it to.

            “You are welcome. Are you all alright?” she asks with concern. Her voice is deep and Felicity can only choke back a chuckle when she sees the men gazing at her in awe. Perhaps it’s the light glinting off her tiara or the wisdom in her eyes, but the woman demands a little bit of reverence.

            “We’re good,” Hal says after shaking himself out of the trance. Felicity walks up to Wonder Woman and smiles.

            “Felicity, it is good to see you,” the woman greets her.

            “I’m so glad you’re here. You saved our butts. Everyone, this is Diana, also known as Wonder Woman. Diana, this is the Flash, Green Lantern, and Green Arrow,” Felicity introduces her.

             The men nod their greetings, somewhat sheepishly. Then their ears all perk up when the sounds of sirens ring from a distance. Barry scratches the back of his head, only to realize that he’s scratching red leather, and bites his bottom lip.

            “Uh, guys? Maybe we should get out of here,” he says, craning his neck to look for any oncoming cop cars.

            Felicity whirls around to face Hal.

            “So what do you think? Do you want to join?” she asks with a note of urgency.

            He takes a long moment to answer as he looks down at her with a frown. Just when she’s about to snap at him to hurry up and answer, he breaks into a wide grin.

            “Are you kidding me? Count me in,” he says and then winks at her. “See you later.”

            He flies up into the air and disappears with the rest staring up at him. Once he’s gone, the four exchange looks as the sirens get even closer. Oliver glances at Barry and then sighs in exasperation. He stands closer to him and Barry seems somewhat alarmed.

            “You’re going to have to take me,” Oliver says, wrapping his arm around Barry’s waist.

            “What?” Barry says in confusion, stepping away only for Oliver to pull him in closer.

            “Take me!” Oliver says. Then he looks at Diana. “You’ll fly her to Gotham?”

            Felicity forces down her gasp as Wonder Woman grabs her and lifts her up as if she’s a rag doll. This happens way too often nowadays, she realizes. Then she grins at the men.

            “Meet you guys there.”

 

 

            Of course, Barry and Oliver are already there, standing around Gordon in the basement and Felicity smirks at Barry, who looks pleased with himself. She shakes her head, the trace of a grin still on her face as she addresses Gordon.

“You know, people are going to realize what we’re doing here,” Felicity says as she joins them by the computer. “Wonder Woman dropped me off and there were lots of people staring. It’s going to start rumors.”

            Gordon sighs, “I know. Superman made his way in here once. It’s a problem I’m working on.”

            “People are going to notice groups of superheroes walking in and out of any building – no matter how secluded we get,” Barry says, looking up at the ceiling as if he’s racking his brain for any ideas.

            “Like I said, I’m working on it,” Gordon replies and throws Felicity a look.

            “It’s not like we can have Justice League headquarters in space or anything. That would be cool. Can you imagine? But it’s impossible, I mean, the amount of energy and equipment we’d need – a satellite for starters –”

            Gordon’s look of exasperation fades away as Barry’s eyes get brighter the longer he talks. After tilting her head as she observes him, she starts to grin and then crosses her arms.

            “Allen, do you want to be in charge of finding a location for our new headquarters?” she interrupts. Barry gapes as he looks at Gordon, then at Felicity, and then at Gordon again.

            “You’re serious?” he stammers. Gordon frowns.

            “Why wouldn’t I be serious?” she says, her voice intentionally cold. Felicity rolls her eyes at Gordon, knowing that she’s only trying to keep him on his toes.

            “N-no, yes, I mean, of course you’re serious. Yes, I would love to. Thank you,” he says, shuffling his feet. Gordon’s frown turns into a bright smile.

            “Great. I’ll set you up soon,” she replies and then pauses as she glances at the members, “but you should go rest. You all look terrible.”

            However, Felicity isn’t listening as she spies over Gordon’s shoulder to see her screen full of code. She frowns as she reaches over to use the mouse and scrolls down. Then she straightens back up.

            “This is from my decryption device. Did you find anything?” she asks, her cheer fading away as the memory of Smith in leather sinks into her thoughts.

            The mood in the basement shifts as her employer’s eyes get dark and stormy. She stares at the screen and then she clicks through the pages, each click sounding harsher than the next. Both Oliver and Barry crowd around Gordon, peering at the screen as well.

            “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There’s this one bit – I don’t know, Smoak. We’ve got our work cut out for us,” she murmurs.

            “I’ll get right on it,” Felicity assures her.

            Then Felicity feels someone’s gaze on her and she knows that it’s Oliver. She turns back to glance at him, but his face is impassive. Leaving his mansion had been a little easier knowing that she would see him again soon for their trip to Coast City, but now their mission is done. She knows that he’s a Justice League member now and that they’ll see each other more often than before. Still, there’s an ache within her as she looks at him, his face completely unreadable.

            Then he smiles at her, breaking his blank expression. His smile is warm, but it’s also distant. It’s not the same smile he gives her when she makes a breakthrough in her hacking in their lair in Starling City or when she quips back at him with a quirky comment.

            “Smoak. Go home. Rest. All of you,” Gordon says, rubbing her eyes.

            Felicity shakes her head, “No, I’m staying.”

            Gordon throws her hands up in defeat and after glaring at Felicity one last time, she wheels away from the computer to get herself a drink of water. The three of them part to make a path for her and then regroup again into an awkward circle. Oliver glances at Barry.

            “I could use a ride,” he says to Barry.

            “I told you. Way more efficient, right?” Barry says with a grin. He waves at Felicity and walks towards the exit. Before Oliver follows him, he looks at Felicity one more time.

            “I’ll see you later,” he says, with that small smile again.

            Felicity swallows and gives him one as well.

            “See you, Oliver.”

 

 

           

            A month later, Felicity makes a breakthrough and finds a phone number connected to LexCorp. She can’t help but shudder as she thinks about that sly wink Lex Luthor gave her. Gordon buries her head in her hands after they both stare at the screen for a long moment in silence.

            “Not him. We can’t touch him,” she says quietly after lifting her head. “He’s like – his reputation in the business world is pristine.”

            Felicity says nothing and only continues to stare at the screen.

            “Maybe it isn’t him. Maybe it’s someone else within the company,” Gordon says hopefully.

            “It’s him,” Felicity says, still not looking away at the blinking red font that reads “LexCorp”.

            Gordon frowns at her.

            “How do you know?”

            She finally tears her eyes away and gesture towards the screen a little wildly.

            “Of course it’s him! He owns a freaking aerospace engineering firm and there’s a missile missing in action out there. Of course, it’s going to be the rich guy who can ruin our lives if we ever mess with him,” she says hotly, her temper rising. After a couple of deep breaths, Felicity calms down enough to be grateful for the fact that her device isn’t a complete dead end.

            “So now what,” Gordon mutters after eyeing Felicity for a moment.

            “We find out their plan, then we flush it down the drain,” Felicity replies, her eyes flashing. She waits for Gordon to respond but all she hears is the hum of the computers. Felicity looks at her to find her with her head cocked to the side. She feels exposed under the woman’s gaze and clears her throat.

            “What?” she says.

            “Just when I think I’ve finally figured you out, you surprise me, Smoak,” Gordon replies with a grin.

            Felicity doesn’t know what to say to that.

 

 

            Gordon sends her home for the night when they can’t come up with any more ideas on how to hack LexCorp without sending up red flags to the CEO within a nanosecond. The night breeze feels wonderful on her skin and it’s a small comfort to her. Knowing the work ahead of them, the trouble that’s brewing for the country, and the thought of Smith and Lex Luthor working together all make her feel sick to her stomach. So the small things like people chatting and laughing as they walk past her on the street and the smell of coffee from a café, Felicity appreciates.

            It’s a bit late to walk but the hotel is only a few minutes away. Anyway she needs this short trek to clear her head.

            Felicity can’t believe how much things have changed in a few short months. When she told John that she needed a break from all things Arrow, she never expected that she would get involved with a superhero league or get caught in a potential national crisis. All she wanted was time to recover from the “I love you” uttered in the darkness. She shuts her eyes and clenches her left hand into a fist, almost feeling the outline of the syringe.

            The confusion comes rushing back to her. They had been battling Slade’s men when he suddenly dragged her to the mansion, spouting nonsense about keeping her safe. Her eyebrows furrowed, she told him that none of it made sense, still confused until the syringe was exchanged as he said those three words. Felicity chuckles darkly. He had smudged the words together so that it sounded like just two words, as if he was almost scared to say it.

            Felicity rubs her arms as she continues to walk along the street, looking through display windows here and there. Then she comes across a newsstand and a bald man pops out at her as she looks at the cover of _GQ_. He’s in an expensive suit, smirking, but it’s the eyes that strike a chord with the reader – ambition and exhilaration. The thrill of living the dream with even more room to climb higher – it’s what everyone wants at some point in their lives.

            She leans forward as the nausea comes back up again. This is some break, she thinks. These weren’t nights of Netflix viewings on her couch with a mug of mint chocolate chip ice cream in her hands because she was too lazy to do her dishes. Hell, she couldn’t even get away from Oliver properly.

            “What am I doing?” she whispers as she looks away from the newsstand. Felicity walks more briskly, not bothering to look up at the sky tonight. She’s gotten into the habit of looking at the sky in Gotham ever since she caught sight of a signal once in the clouds. The lights and shadow curiously designed in the shape of a bat.

            She shakes her head. She doesn’t need to be thinking about Bruce Wayne right now. There are enough billionaires in her head as it is.

            Her phone vibrates and she welcomes the distraction. Then she frowns as she pulls it out of her pocket to see an unfamiliar string of numbers flashing up at her. Her mouth gets dry and she slowly brings the phone to her ear, almost expecting to hear Smith on the other end.

            “Hello?” she says.

            “Am I speaking with Felicity Smoak?” a woman asks.

            “Yes, I’m Felicity. Who is this?”

            “I’m calling from Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas. You’re listed as an emergency contact for Margaret Smoak. She listed several numbers for you actually but only this one worked. I believe you’re her daughter,” the woman says politely.

            Felicity stops in her tracks and swallows. When she had hacked into her mother’s current health care network to add her recent phone number, it was just to cover her bases. She never expected – her heart drops.

            “What happened? What’s wrong?” she says, her voice rising.

            “Your mother had a heart attack and was admitted just a few hours ago. She’s stable now, but we’ll be keeping her here for a few days. You might want to come in,” the woman replies.

            She clenches the phone until her fingers turn white. It suddenly gets harder to breathe as her mind starts to shut down.

            “Okay. Thank you,” she says quietly before hanging up. A woman with her arms wrapped around a smiling man accidentally bumps into Felicity and mutters her apologies. Felicity barely notices though as she stares down at her phone.

            Another breeze ruffles her hair but this time, she shivers.

            It’s time to go home.

 

 

            The lair is empty in the early hours of the morning. Felicity flips on the large switch and watches as the lights flicker on one by one. She looks around, her chest tight, even though it’s only been a little over a month since she’s been here. Felicity sinks into her chair and shuts her eyes. Then they snap back open to stare at the multiple screens for a long minute.

            She gets up and turns on all of the switches and then clears away burger wrappers on the end of her desk, as she hears her machines start to whir and breathe back into life. Soon her fingertips fly all over the keyboard.

            After about two hours, someone comes in. Felicity spins around in her chair with a bright smile plastered on her face.

            “Good. You’re here. So I just updated the system and looked through all of the alerts. You probably already know this, but this guy Hackett? He’s bad news –” Felicity rattles off while looking at the tablet in her hand.

            Oliver stares at her.

            “What are you doing here?” he asks.

            “I’ve been updating our system. And seriously, tell Diggle to stop leaving Big Belly Burger wrappers on my desk. Just because I’m not here, doesn’t mean he has to trash my space,” Felicity says, frowning as she swipes away on her tablet, not noticing him stepping closer towards her. She’s about to spin her chair around again to face her computer, but Oliver puts his hand on the back of the chair to stop her.

            “Felicity,” he says.

            She clutches onto that tablet.

            “What’s going on?” he asks quietly as he gently pulls the tablet away from her, his hand still on her chair. She hears him set it down on her desk as she looks down at her lap.

            “My mother,” she whispers. “She had a heart attack. She’s in the hospital.”

            Felicity hears him suck in a breath.

            “I’m sorry,” he says softly.

            “She’s – she’s fine. They said she’s stable. God, she better be fine. I should go – to Vegas, I mean, but…” Felicity trails off.

            She blinks away her tears in frustration but they don’t go away, blurring her vision. Felicity finally lifts her head to look up at the ceiling but Oliver catches ahold of her gaze midway. The tears that were welling roll down her cheeks, and she’s able to see the care and pain etched in his expression.

            Without thinking, she puts a hand out and grabs his shirt near the bottom to pull him closer to her and the chair.

            “I can’t, Oliver. I can’t,” she whispers. A soft breath escapes from Oliver and he wraps his arms around her, her head coming to a rest on his chest. She can hear the dull thud of his heartbeat and the rhythm soothes her. When she feels him bring his hand to the back of her head though, she breaks into quiet sobs and he tightens the embrace.

            “Whatever you need, I’m here,” Oliver says, his fingers just barely grazing her hair.

            Felicity pulls away, after being in that position for a long while, and wipes her tears away. He lets go of her but doesn’t back away. Felicity closes her eyes and then opens them again to see the wet spot on his shirt. She brings her hand up to touch it but stops midair, curling her fingers in.

            “Sorry,” she croaks as she uses that hand to tuck some hair behind her ear.

            “Don’t,” he simply says.

            Felicity takes in a deep breath before she says, “I have to go to Vegas.”

            Oliver nods, the concern still there.

            “Will you come with me?” she asks.

 

 

            Felicity opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is the sunrise peeking over the edge of the green trees. The rays hit the surface of the river and the light twinkles over the water as they drive past it in Oliver’s new car.  She soaks in the beauty while the side of her head gently rests against the window. Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees his hand on the steering wheel, his forearm relaxed.

            “You awake?” Oliver asks.

            “Yeah,” she says, still looking out the window. “How long have I been asleep?”

            “Not long,” he answers. He glances over at her as Felicity shifts in her seat and pulls at the back of her neck with a cringe. “Sorry, I should have – you were sleeping at a weird angle.”

            She rotates her neck and sighs. “I can feel it. You must be so tired. Here, pull over and we can switch.”

            He shakes his head and gives her a small smile. “I’ve got it. Relax. Besides, I don’t think we need another road trip fight.”

            Felicity smiles at the memory. Then she sits upright and fumbles for her phone in her purse.

            “I completely forgot to let Gordon know,” she says as she grabs her cell phone.

            “I called her already and told her what happened. She said don’t worry about anything,” Oliver says as he changes lanes after flicking on his left signal. Felicity glances at him with gratitude but then remembers what she and Gordon had found out in the basement. She leans back with a huff.

            “Fat chance,” she says. “How can I not worry?”

            “You’ll find a way. No one’s invincible, not even Lex Luthor,” he replies, tapping on the wheel.

            Felicity turns to him, her eyebrow arched.

            “Barbara told me everything,” he answers her unasked question.

            “Barbara?” Felicity asks.

            He shrugs. “It’s her name, right?”

            They then settle into a comfortable silence for a long time as Oliver drives along the winding highways. Eventually, the scenery changes into what she’s used to. The trees disappear and red rock formations jut out from the ground. The earthen tones become a stark contrast to the clear blue sky with only a few wispy clouds in sight.

            “What’s your mother’s name?” Oliver asks softly, breaking the quiet mood.

            “Margaret. She hates it though. People always just called her Meg or Megs,” she replies after a pause.

            Oliver smiles. “Felicity Meghan Smoak.”

            “Yeah,” she says, looking out the window once more.

            “Where did Felicity come from?” he asks, after the semi trailer passes them.

            “Don’t know. You’d have to ask my father,” she says.

            Oliver tightens his grip on the wheel and blinks. “Sorry.”

            She says nothing and pushes the button so that the window rolls down. Her hand sticks out above the glass and her hair fly out of her face with the wind. Oliver looks over at her. She gathers her hair and pulls it up into a tight ponytail.

            “You okay?” he asks.

            “I don’t know,” she murmurs. She closes her eyes and sighs, still seeing the desert sun underneath her eyelids.

 

 

            They arrive in Las Vegas in the afternoon. However, Oliver stops the car suddenly when he spies something out the window and takes a few minutes to park the car. Felicity frowns as she looks around. This isn’t the hospital.

            “What are you doing?” she asks. But he says nothing and only puts out a finger to tell her to wait before he gets out of the car. Her mouth closes when she sees him enter a flower shop.

            Felicity leans back and stares out the windshield until the door opens again. A large green petal nearly pokes her in the eye as Oliver puts a large decorated pot in her lap. The flower arrangement is huge with too many bright colors but she grabs onto either side as Oliver starts the car.

            “I didn’t know what your mother would like, or what was appropriate. Mom was always the one doing this sort of thing,” he admits as he sees Felicity being dwarfed by the flowers.

            She smells one of the roses.

            “No, this is nice. Thank you,” she says.

            His eyes soften as Felicity looks up from the flowers.

            Then Oliver starts driving. Their GPS starts giving them bogus directions and Felicity points out the streets that he should be taking, taking care to avoid the large busy streets – not only to avoid the traffic but selfishly she doesn’t want to see all the flash.

            “How long has it been since you’ve been here?” Oliver asks as he turns.

            “The last time I was here, I was seventeen,” she murmurs. “No – not through the strip, Oliver.”

            He grimaces at the mention of the strip and makes another sharp turn to take another street. “Right.”

            Felicity can recognize the I-did-stupid-stuff-in-Sin-City face anywhere and chuckles.

            “What, did you get drunk off your ass here?” she asks, relieved to be talking about something else. Oliver grins and rests his elbow on his door as they pull up at a stoplight.

            “That and then some. I failed three finals in school and had to drop out. First time of many. Tommy took me out here to celebrate. I don’t even remember what we did. I just remember the morning after,” he says, grinning at the memory. Felicity rolls her eyes.

            “Oh my God, Oliver. Don’t tell me you had your own rendition of the Hangover. I guess I wouldn’t put it past you. The old you,” she says teasingly.

            “Hey, Tommy was the one who woke up with a new tattoo. Not me. Well, I woke up with a bag of casino chips in my arms. That was pretty awesome,” he says, chuckling.

            “You were already rich!” Felicity says while shaking her head.

            “Not the same thrill,” Oliver says and then pauses, “I think Tommy understood more than I did back then.”

            “Understand what?” she asks as she watches the wisp of regret pass from his eyes.

            “How empty it all was. Sometimes, there were moments when I would see him – in between the shots of whatever – he looked... I don’t know. It took a whole island to make me realize…but he knew before I did,” he says.

            Felicity nods. “It must have been weird for him when you came back all… _you_.”

            Oliver lets out a soft sigh. “I had a crash course. It was more gradual for him.”

            She leans back in her seat, shuffling the flowers. “He fell in love with Laurel. That was his island.”

            There’s a thick silence and she wonders if it was the wrong thing to say given the history between all three people. She knows it bothered Oliver somewhat back then that the woman he loved was in love with his best friend. But as she sees weariness casting a shadow on his face, Felicity realizes that he’s thinking about the night of Tommy’s death.

            “His life was full. He got to fall in love before he died. Not a lot of people can say that,” she says quietly.

            Oliver turns to look at her and she meets his gaze straight on. The flowers and the petals that are in her line of sight frame him. There are bags underneath his eyes and his hair is mussed from the lack of a shower and the long drive. He still has a few scars healing on his neck from a recent fight and his shirt is wrinkled. He’s not in his green suit, his skin glowing from the adrenaline rushing through his veins, which is when she finds him the sexiest. But in this odd, small moment, Felicity knows that she doesn’t mind the fact that she’s in love with this man.  

            There’s a honk behind them and they both look up to see that the light is green. Oliver presses on the accelerator – the moment broken.

 

 

            Oliver waits outside as Felicity walks into the hospital room with the flower arrangement in her hands. She knows that he’s watching from the window and something about that makes her feel better. Her mother is in a private room, something that she had arranged on their drive. She uses the flowers as a shield and slowly lowers it to see her mother sleeping.

            Her brown hair frames her frail face and her small chest rises as she inhales. Felicity swallows as she puts the flowers down next to two other vases full of flowers more elegant than hers and one teddy bear with a get well sign in his hands. Then she comes back to the side of the bed and sees the tubes coming out of her mother. Felicity sits down in a chair.

            She looks beautiful as always.

            “Hey, Mom,” Felicity whispers.

            Margaret Smoak responds with a beep from the heart monitor. Felicity frowns and then leans over to gently pull the blanket up to the woman’s shoulders. Her mother always hated the cold. She sits there for awhile, the sun streaming in from the other window.

            The last time she saw her, her mother had come in drunk with another man, giggling and shushing as they bumped into the furniture. They eventually fell over onto the couch, the man letting out a throaty laugh as he lifted himself slightly up from her. Felicity had been in the doorway to the small living room with a duffel bag and a suitcase in her hands.

            Her mother peeked out from the man’s broad shoulders and saw her.

            “Oh hey sweetie, sorry about this,” she said, slurring her words. Meg smacked the man playfully so that he would get off of her and he did so begrudgingly. Then her eyes fell on her bags. “Where are you going?”

            Felicity shook her head. “You said you would drive me to the airport tonight. My flight. MIT, remember?”

            Her voice was high, indignant, and had a sharp condescending edge to it. Realization dawned on Meg’s face and her eyes widened. She shot up, almost tipping over and fumbled around for her car keys.

            “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I completely forgot. Hang on, baby. Let me just –”

            “Forget it, Mom. No need to get arrested for drunk driving. I called a taxi,” Felicity said harshly, wheeling the suitcase into the living room to the front door that was still ajar. Her mother put her hand to her hair, ignoring the man tugging on her.

            “Megs. Let her go. I’ve got another shift in a few hours,” he said, kissing her neck.

            As if on cue, there was a series of loud honks from outside. Her mother’s eyes were glossy and deep inside, Felicity suspected it wasn’t from the alcohol as her mother stepped towards her, giving her a hug that smelled of beer.

            “Be a good girl at school,” her mother whispered before giving her a peck on her forehead. Felicity stepped back, swallowing several times and took one last look at her before walking out.

            “Felicity!” her mother choked out as she quickly kept the screen door open before it slammed shut on her. Felicity pretended not to see her mother with a hand on her heart and ignored her own ache in hers as the taxi driver put her stuff in the trunk. She only let herself cry when she was safely inside the car, at least half an hour away from their front steps.

            Felicity’s breaths get shaky as she remembers and she closes her eyes, just concentrating on the steady beeping. She nearly jolts when she feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up to see Oliver standing beside her.

            “It’s going to be okay,” he says quietly.

            Their heads both turn towards her mother as she shifts in her bed, mumbling in her sleep. Felicity lets out a breath when she sees the wrinkles from this angle. She’s been keeping track of her mother all these years, making sure that she’s doing okay. So she’s seen the new driver’s license pictures and other photo IDs – and hell, even that horrible video clip from Smith, but in her mind, she has always pictured this gorgeous and carefree woman.

            This woman looks worn and is a different type of beautiful than she’s used to. Felicity gasps when her mother’s eyes shoot open.

            “Darren. I saw – Darren,” her mother rasps out, the monitor beeping more quickly. Felicity leans down and grabs her hand, her throat clogging at the mention of her father’s name.

            “Mom,” she says as a nurse dashes into the room to check on her mother. Margaret eases back and blinks several times as the nurse works, looking up at Felicity.

            “Hey, sweetie,” she wheezes. Felicity bites her lip, unsure of what to say after all these years.

            “I – I heard. How are you feeling?” she asks, slowly sitting back down in her chair, not letting go of her mother’s hand. She doesn’t even notice Oliver quietly leaving the room. Margaret squeezes her hand and smiles.

            “I’m feeling much better, Felicity,” she says and then chuckles softly. She reaches up to touch the ends of her daughter’s hair. “Look at you. A blonde.”

            “All right. Take it easy, Meg… You and your daughter look so much alike. You must be so proud,” the nurse comments before smiling and leaving them alone together.

            Felicity looks down. “I dyed it. I just wanted something different. Do you like it?”

            Margaret lets go of her hair and watches it land gently on her shoulder. “I do. It suits you. You look sunny.”

            They stare at each other in silence, the smiles fading away. Felicity clears her throat but her mother speaks before she does.

            “It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you,” she says without a hint of judgment in her tone. Felicity doesn’t apologize because she wants to really mean it when she says it and not just utter it because her mother’s fallen sick.

            “I’m glad you’re okay,” Felicity replies truthfully.

            “I get why you left. I’m just thankful that you even came,” she says.

            Felicity’s stomach churns and she shakes her head. “Mom, please.”

            Her mother smiles again and turns her head to look out the window. She lets out a low appreciative whistle.

            “Damn. Who’s the boy?” she asks.

            Felicity smiles.

 

 

            When Oliver searches for the directions to a hotel in his phone, Felicity stops him. He looks up and she sighs.

            “Can we – I need to see –” The words come in short bursts and she feels frustrated at her inability to come up with a sentence. Oliver puts the phone down in between them and then pushes the gear down into drive.

            “Tell me where to go,” he says.

            So she does street by street, licking her bottom lip, as the landmarks get even more familiar. They drive away from the bright lights, the pulse of the city fading away as they enter the darker neighborhoods. She then has him turn onto the last street. The houses seem smaller than Felicity remembers and she smiles at the old lady who’s rocking in a chair out on her tiny porch.

            “Mimi,” she murmurs, her fingertips on the glass.

            “What?” Oliver says, glancing at her. But she sits up straight as they come to a white house.

            “Stop. We’re here.”

            Oliver pulls to a stop and parks in front of her childhood home. He peers out over Felicity to look at the house. She exhales as she sees that the lawn is cut and the unfamiliar rosebushes pruned.

            “This is where you grew up,” Oliver says, the realization dawning on him. Felicity doesn’t answer and gets out of the car, slowly walking to the front steps of the house. She glances over her shoulder and grins as she sees him taking in the sight.

            “Not quite a mansion,” she says drily before looking down at the welcome mat. Felicity pauses before kneeling down and lifting the mat up to find a lone silver key lying underneath.

            “Your mother still lives here,” he says as she turns the key and the lock clicks open. After a deep breath and a look at Oliver, who’s keeping the screen door open for her, she twists the doorknob and pushes the wooden door open.

            The first thing she sees is the living room. Her mother seems to have installed a clean new carpet and put in new furniture. The redecoration is pleasing to the eye – simple and yet elegant. Felicity steps forward in a daze as she hears both doors swing shut.

            Oliver steps in besides her, glancing at her with some concern. Then something seems to have caught his eye, because he walks past her towards a little wooden table pushed against a wall. He reaches down and picks up an object.

            “Oliver. What are you doing?” Felicity hisses, walking towards him. Then her mouth opens as she looks down at what he’s holding – a picture frame and inside it, a picture of her as an eight year old. Her brown hair was impossibly long and her round glasses were perched on her nose, making her look like an owl. Her arms were wrapped around a big storybook and her crooked smile was wide enough to display the gaps in between her teeth.

            He grins. “You were cute even with brown hair.”

            “Oh my God,” she whispers. Her eyes fall to the other pictures on the table. Most of them are of her at various ages. Then she picks one up and stares down at it. It’s a picture of her mother elbows deep in soap and water, doing the dishes. At her side is Felicity, a toddler, on a stepping stool next to her, trying to reach the sink as well in order to help. Oliver peers over Felicity’s shoulder after putting the other picture down.

            “Wow,” he murmurs.

            “This picture – I’ve never seen it. My father must have taken this one,” she says and then glances down at the table. “These pictures – they were never here. All of this – this was never here when I was growing up.”

            Oliver looks at her. “Maybe she missed you.”

            Felicity looks at him back and he falters. He puts a hand on the side of her arm.

            “Hey, sorry. Do you want to go?” he asks.

            “No, it’s okay. I just – it’s a lot to take in.”

            Felicity puts the picture down carefully and then walks through the hallway until she comes across a door. She pauses until she’s sure Oliver is behind her, because she can’t do this alone. The door opens, she turns on the light and she hears his low chuckle.

            “Felicity,” he says, his eyes twinkling as he gazes around the room, but he waits until she steps in first before he enters.

            Her full size bed is made and the sheets and covers are different from what she remembers. But everything else is the same. Her bookshelf beside her bed is bursting with thick books on computers and coding. The college pennants are still hanging on the wall, side by side.

            “Harvard. Yale. MIT. So driven,” he murmurs as he looks up at them with a slight smile. “Did you get into all three?”

            “Of course. I was really motivated,” she says, sitting on the bed. Oliver, however, goes over to her bookshelf and kneels down, running his finger on the edge of her computer books. Then he gets up, his knees cracking, to look at the old movie posters plastered above the bookshelf.

            “I loved Cary Grant. And Clark Gable. Jimmy Stewart, too,” Felicity says a little sheepishly. Oliver shakes his head and shrugs.

            “I can honestly say that I don’t know any of those people. I never got into black and white movies.”

            “We’ll have to see one together then. It’ll be edifying for you,” she says finally smiling. He looks back at her, a little startled and she swallows. Her eyes travel to the ceiling and then she lets out a small breath when she sees them.

            Felicity gets up from the bed and turns off the light switch. Little stars glow from her ceiling and she fumbles her way back to the bed so that she can lie down. She puts her hands behind her head and just stares up at the make believe constellations. She feels the bed shift when Oliver sits down cautiously.

            Felicity holds onto his shirt and pulls him back. He takes the hint and she scoots over as he lies down next to her. They lie there underneath the stars and Felicity tries not to think about how close he is. She can barely see him in the darkness through the corner of her eye but she can make out the outline of his brow, nose, and lips.

            “It took me forever to put those up,” she says softly. “They kept falling down because they weren’t sticky enough. They were the cheap ones.”

            “How’d you get them to stay up?” he asks, looking at each star.

            “Eddie found a way to glue them on,” she says, smiling at the memory. She knows that he wants to ask her about Eddie but she closes her eyes. Then Felicity slips her hands from behind her head and clasps them together across her stomach. She grins when she hears him breathe softly in and out.

            She’s nearly falling over the edge of sleep when Felicity hears Oliver get up and quietly shut the door behind him.

 

 

            “So you’re Felicity’s boss?” Margaret Smoak asks as Oliver helps her out of his car and then shuts the door. Felicity comes around and grabs her other hand.

            “I’m fine. I’m fine,” the woman grumbles as they make their way to the front door. “But really? You’re a billionaire?”

            Oliver grins. “I was her former boss and I’m not a billionaire anymore.”

            She tuts. “Well, that’s a shame.”

            “Mom,” Felicity says, rolling her eyes. Her mother sighs when they’re in the house and with Oliver’s help, she settles into an armchair. She leans her head back and smiles.

            “It’s good to be home,” she says. Then after a moment, Margaret looks up at Felicity hesitantly. “Did you see your room? I – I kept it the same for the most part. There was a sale at Bed and Bath a few years ago and I got new covers. I thought it would look good in your room.”

            Felicity sits down on the couch next to the armchair.

            “I like it. It looks nice,” she says and then glances at the table. “You did a really nice job redecorating the place.”

            Her mother nods. “I needed a change.”

            She then sees Oliver standing awkwardly before them and she stands up. “I’ll get you some tea, Oliver. Or what do you like? I have coffee. There’s some juice left, although, I think it might have gone bad. Hang on, let’s see.”

            Oliver and Felicity both move towards her to slow the woman down.

            “I’m okay, Mrs. Smoak. We need to leave soon anyway,” he says, ushering her back into her seat. He freezes when he sees her cast her eyes down at his words. Felicity puts her hand over her mother’s.

            “I’m sorry, Mom. There are just a lot of things I need to do –”

            The older woman shakes her head. “No, of course, sweetie. I’m so glad you came. Really, thank you. Thank you, Oliver, for bringing her.”

            Oliver smiles. “Of course, Mrs. Smoak.”

            Felicity looks at her mother anxiously, “Mimi will be here soon. She’s agreed to help out here and there –”

            “ _Felicity_. Mimi and I have gotten quite close while you’ve been gone. We made an arrangement when she visited after my surgery. I’ll be fine. Go before the traffic gets bad,” she interrupts.  

            Felicity looks at her mother for a long time before she embraces her and kisses her on the forehead.

            “You be good,” she whispers. She can feel the tears welling up in her eyes but blinks them away as she pulls back.

            “You too, baby,” her mother whispers and then calls out to Oliver. “You take care of her.”

            Oliver puts his hand on Felicity’s shoulder as they near the front door.

            “Always,” he answers.

 

 

            “I lied. I do know why my father named me Felicity,” she says after they’ve been on the road for at least three hours. Oliver doesn’t glance at her but continues to look out the window. She’s grateful for this as she rubs her right temple.

            “Mom said he was a bit weird. Passionate. He was really good with computers, especially when the industry boomed. It all just clicked for him, but he liked reading too. Poetry especially. He would recite poems all the time. Well, that’s what Mom said. I don’t really remember.”

            Felicity pauses to glance at Oliver, but he says nothing.

            “And not even just the famous ones like John Donne’s and Walt Whitman’s, but the obscure ones too…He was sad sometimes. Even with the internet and all the craziness that came with it, it was, like, never enough for him. So he’d read lots of poems, I don’t know.”

            She sighs and looks out the window to see storm clouds gathering.

            “There was this poet that no one really knows much about. No one ever read his poems until way after his death and even then, they didn’t mean much to anyone. Anyway, his poems are all about his search for felicity – complete bliss. I think my father wanted that. I guess he couldn’t find it in us.”

            Felicity laughs.

            “Mom said he had the whole mad genius thing going on. But he ended up becoming nothing in the end. I don’t even know how they got together. That was all Mom ever told me.”

            Oliver looks at her. “Who was the poet?”

            “Thomas Traherne. Turns out he was a bit nuts and racist,” she says, with a tight smile.

            The rain pit pats at first but then it begins to pour. The sun already had set an hour ago, and Oliver makes the headlights brighter. The wipers hasten their pace across the windshield.

            “Do you think your mother loved him?” he asks, shifting in his seat as the air gets colder with the rain. She rubs her arms. She remembers the quiet in their house after her father had left and the muffled sobs from her parents’ bedroom.

            “Yes,” Felicity says.

            Then there’s a loud sound from the hood of the car and Felicity gasps as she sees smoke rising. Oliver curses under his breath and pulls over to the shoulder of the highway. She sits up and leans over, but it’s difficult to see anything in the rain.

            “What –”

            “Stay here,” Oliver says. The sound of the rain magnifies for a split second as he opens the door and then its muffled again when he shuts it. She watches him prop open the hood. She can only imagine him staring down into the car’s contents with clenched jaws.

            Felicity grins and goes outside. It’s freezing cold as the rain hits her and her shirt and jeans get soaked on her short walk to the front of the car.

            “What are you doing? I told you to stay inside,” Oliver says loudly so that she can hear him over the rain.

            “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?” she asks, her grin getting wider as she stands next to him, peering down at the car.

            “No fucking clue,” he replies, grinning back. Felicity closes the hood of the car and then gestures to him. They then run back into the car, shivering as they both close their respective doors.

            “I _just_ got this car,” Oliver groans, hitting his head back on his headrest. Felicity wipes her hand and goes through her phone.

            “Time to call Triple A,” she replies.

 

 

            They wait for a long time in the car. Felicity doesn’t open her eyes when she wakes up from a short nap. She can feel Oliver’s jacket draped over her and she forces herself not to cringe. Her neck feels sore from resting crookedly over her left shoulder. Her hair falls slightly over her face. She decides to open her eyes and move it out of the way.

            But before she can, she feels it move on its own. Oliver brushes her wet hair back and she can almost feel his soft breath on her. When Oliver doesn’t move his hand away from her hair, she curls in her fingers at her right side. She could just sit there and pretend that she’s sleeping, pretend that she’s not also in on this quiet moment.

            But she doesn’t.

            Felicity opens her eyes and he sucks in a breath, when their eyes meet. He doesn’t move – his face so close. She then decides that she has to know. Once and for all.

            “Do you love me, Oliver?” she whispers.

            Oliver tucks her hair behind her ear. His eyes are bright but quiet – as if he’s just been privy to a secret knowledge. He smiles.

            “You know I do,” he says barely over a whisper. Oliver then pulls away and leans back in his seat. Felicity straightens her neck and looks out at the rain. He doesn’t say the three words and she knows he’s not ready.

            She smiles though, because for her, it’s enough.

            They sit still in the car in silence until help arrives.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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          His head is yanked from the water and he takes a deep breath only to feel the water burning in his nose and throat. He coughs but when Lex Luthor comes around to face him, he keeps his eyes blank.

            Luthor grins and signals to the men to dunk him once more. He’s still working to catch his breath when his head is pushed under. The sting coats his throat and lungs.

            He won’t die like this. Not today.

            When he’s pulled out, he gasps and chokes. Then he hears the familiar clicking of heels and the men let him go. Still coughing out water, he leans his back against the bucket, but Luther kicks it away. He lands on his back with a groan and he lays there spread-eagled, looking up at the bright florescent lights.

            Then Smith’s face enters his view.

            “Oh Lex, that wasn’t very nice. Poor thing,” she murmurs.

            “He’ll be fine. Just a little warning for when he thinks about escaping again,” Luthor says, spreading his lips out to show his pearly white teeth. He supposes it’s meant to be a smile. Then Luthor turns to Smith, his eyes more serious. “We need to take out the Justice League or find a way to make sure they don’t interfere.”

            Smith arches an eyebrow. “You don’t know?”

            She leans down and brushes his wet greying long hair away from his eyes, ignoring Luthor’s glare.

            “Know _what_?”

            He moves his head to the side to avoid her touch and she pauses. Then she looks up at Luthor.

            “They found out about your connection to me. They’ll be coming after you soon,” Smith replies. “You’ll have them right where you want them.”

            Luthor grins, his bald head shining brighter than usual. Without a word, Luthor steps over his body and leaves the secured room. Smith glances down at him again.

            “Try to behave this time,” she murmurs before following Luthor out.

            He groans again and rolls over with great effort only to have his arms jerked up by the men. He takes a deep breath before his face plunges back into the water.

* * *

              Felicity walks out of the bodega with a large brown bag full of food items and smiles her thanks when one of its staff opens the door for her. She glances down at the headlines of the newspapers lying in a stack below by the entrance, and frowns at the image of the president talking into a microphone that’s splashed across the front page.

            She shakes her head as soon as Smith pops up into her thoughts, which has been happening far too often ever since she and Gordon had found out about Lex Luthor.  Felicity looks up to see the sun just starting to set and turns right to make her way back to the hotel. While she’s been enjoying food from the hotel, it’s starting to get old and any time she wants a drink, she has to go to the bar and have an awkward conversation with Nick, who’s now apparently moving to Los Angeles. Carefully holding onto her bag, she narrowly misses a teenager speeding past in his roller blades.

            “Watch it,” she mutters.

            It’s been one day since Oliver dropped her off in Gotham City after their road trip to Vegas and in all honesty, she clamored out of his car quicker than she had to. Triple A had fixed up the car and the rest of the trip was driven in comfortable silence. Then when they arrived in Gotham, the tension started to grow and Oliver kept glancing at her as if he wanted to say something. Maybe she was terrified that he was going to tell her that he made a mistake or that the conversation was all a misunderstanding, but she shot out of his Camry with a rushed goodbye.

            “Thanks for everything, Oliver. Um, sorry about the car. I feel like I’m bad luck with them – cars, I mean. Anyway, drive safe. I’ll talk to you soon.”

            Oliver just smiled.

            “’Night, Felicity,” he said. Then he drove away after a bellhop guided her safely into the building.

            Felicity stops in her tracks when she hears a sudden noise. She turns her head to look closely into the alley at her right, but there’s nothing but dumpsters and the litter around them. She takes a step forward, wondering if she was just imagining things, and then stops again when she hears a thud.

            A gasp escapes from her lips when Felicity sees Batman hunched over in the darkest corner of the alley. She runs over and drops her bag before kneeling beside the man. As her eyes scan the entirety of his large body, she notices that his breaths are coming in short gasps.

            “Batman. You okay?” she asks putting her hand on the side of his black mask to lift his head up. His eyes flicker and latch onto her. He tries to move and she moves back, partly to give him some air and partly to make sure he won’t suddenly throw bat-stars at her. She hates to admit it but she’s still a little wary of him.

            “You,” he rasps as he gets on all fours.

            “Yeah, me. Look, people are going to see you. I’m going to call Gordon,” Felicity tells him as she pulls out her cellphone, but he knocks her phone away.

            “No,” he growls and with a deep breath he lifts his torso up so that only his bottom limbs are touching the ground. Felicity frowns at him.

            “First of all, that wasn’t very nice. Second of all, you look like hell. I’m _calling_ unless you have some way to get back to your Batcave on your own,” she says, grabbing her phone again. She dials ignoring the glare the vigilante is throwing her way. “Gordon. Batman’s injured. We need to get him down to the basement. Can you get – okay. Yeah, I have my watch on me.”

            She hangs up and slips the phone back into her pocket after checking for any damages. She rolls her eyes at the slight crack on the screen, but quickly moves to catch Batman as he nearly topples over with a groan.

            “You owe me a phone,” Felicity mutters but then brings her ear closer to his mouth when she hears a whisper. “What?”

            “Antidote,” he says. She looks around at their surroundings and sees a syringe filled with green liquid lying on the ground next to an empty can of soda. With one arm still around the dark knight, Felicity picks it up and peers at it.

            “Is this it? Hey, Wayne,” she says, panic rising when she sees his eyes fluttering shut. “Wake up, buddy.”  

            He nods and Felicity gulps as she glances down at Batman, who is almost completely covered in black Kevlar. How the hell is she supposed to get this suit off, she thinks to herself as she checks for any openings.

            “You should invest in a leather jacket and pants. This is ridiculous,” she mutters. Then she finds a crack in between the neck and the rest of the body. Memories of Slade Wilson start rushing in and she holds her breath before Felicity plunges the needle of the syringe into the side of his neck.

            She watches as the liquid disappears and then pulls it out. As she raises Batman’s head, Felicity puts her hand over his nose, her stomach churning when she doesn’t feel any air.

            “If you die, Gordon will kill me. You better not be dead,” she whispers.

            Then as if on cue, Batman gasps for air as his chest jerks up. Felicity closes her eyes and tries to slow down her own heartbeat. When she opens her eyes, Batman is leaning against the wall, coughing. She sits next to him in silence as he regains his breath.

            “Thank you,” he says after a few minutes. Then he gets up, his cape sweeping over her face, but he pauses before putting a hand on the brick wall. Felicity brushes her hair away before she stands up.

            “Yeah, I don’t think so. Help’s on the way.”

            He raises his other hand and snarls, “I’m fine.”

            “You know what, tough guy? I just saved your life. Shut up and sit down until Superman gets here,” Felicity snaps back. They glower at each other in silence with no intention of backing down until they hear a whoosh of air.

            “Someone called?” Superman asks with a smile. His smile then turns into a frown as Batman drops into a heap at Felicity’s feet. Without a word, he motions for her to step away before lifting the man up and tossing him over his shoulder.

            “Batman, I presume?” he says quietly after wrapping his other arm around Felicity’s waist and bringing her closer to him.

            “Clark, he was poisoned. We have to get to the basement,” she says, holding on tight.

            Superman nods and shoots up into the air.

 

 

            Gordon meets them at the back entrance of Wayne Enterprises and she gently touches her CEO’s hanging hand as Superman walks into the building. Felicity glances at the woman and opens her mouth to speak.

            “We got people to evacuate the basement. Chemical spill,” Gordon interrupts as they hurry after the large flowing red cape that swishes back and forth at his heavy steps. Felicity shakes her head.

            “Barry needs to come up with something soon. Headquarters in outer space is starting to sound like a really good idea,” she says before she grabs her ID badge and holds it up against a key panel. The yellow lights on the panel blink a certain pattern and the doors slide open.

            Lucius already has the med table ready and Clark drops his shoulder to let the man down with as much dignity as possible. Gordon wheels around to connect him to the heart monitor and lets out a sigh of relief when the readings turn out to be normal.

            “He said it was an antidote. So I injected it into his neck. Was it curare?” Felicity wonders as she puts her hand on the edge of the table. Gordon bites her lip as she carefully removes his mask, revealing dark bruises on his handsome face. Superman blinks.

            “Bruce Wayne,” he says quietly as he looks down at him. “You shouldn’t have – ”

            “This is an emergency, Clark. He’ll have to deal with the fact that you know his identity now,” Lucius says as he attaches another cord to Wayne after taking parts of the suit off. Then he spreads out his hand towards Felicity and she drops the empty syringe into his palm. He lifts the syringe and peers at the tiny bit of liquid that’s left. “There’s some residue. This is straight from Bruce’s supply. It counteracts the poison from –”

            “The League. He was pretty pissed,” Wayne coughs as he sits up. Clark immediately steps back to give the man some space. Gordon sighs and places her arms on her armrests.

            “Are you all right?” she asks, her voice steady.

            “I’m fine. I need to get back. Alfred –” he says.

            “Don’t worry about Alfred. I let him know where you are,” Gordon interrupts as she rolls her chair back so that Wayne can swing his legs over the edge of the table. “What happened?”

            “The League of Assassins doesn’t know that Smith and her people took back the key code,” Wayne replies as he checks his surroundings. Only then does he notice Felicity and Clark.

            He seems to be more interested in Clark, however, and his eyes are drawn to the large red “S” displayed across Superman’s chest. The two men stare at each other before Clark puts out his hand for Batman to shake.

            “My name is Clark Kent. It’s nice to meet you,” he says. Felicity swears that his voice sounds deeper than usual and it seems to rumble from deep within his chest. She’s not all that shocked when Wayne ignores the hand and chooses that moment to stand up, yanking the cords out from his body without even a wince.

            “ _He_ was pissed?” Lucius asks with his eyebrows raised. Wayne’s eyes darken and he says nothing. Felicity and Clark exchange confused glances but both Gordon and Lucius seem to understand the situation. Before Felicity can ask, Wayne speaks.

            “What have you found on Smith?” he asks, his voice getting huskier by the second as he looks down at Gordon. 

            Gordon then nods at Felicity and Felicity walks to the computer to bring up what they found. The number from LexCorp flashes up on the screen and the men crowd over her to peer at it.

            “Lex Luthor,” Wayne says. “He’s well known in the business circuit. He’s been buying up property all over the country.”

            Clark’s eyes narrow at the name as the realization dawns on him. “He’s from Metropolis. LexCorp used to be in the Daily Planet building a long time ago and then they moved out. What does he have to do with anything?”

            “LexCorp is an aerospace engineering firm. How much do you want to bet that he has something to do with those missiles?” Gordon murmurs, clasping her hands together in her lap.

            “They’ve been working together,” Felicity says softly as she crosses her arms.

            Wayne brings down his fist on the desk hard with gritted teeth. Both Lucius and Felicity jump at the noise.

            “I should’ve known they weren’t U.S. military,” he says.

            “It’s not your fault,” Clark replies. Something about his voice and stance stirs respect in Felicity in a way no other authority figure has been able to before. She looks at him as he stares down at the computer with a slight frown. “This is all on Luthor and Smith.”

            Felicity blinks.

            “Wait. I saw him in Coast City. We ran into him at Ferris Aircraft. He was talking with Carol Ferris, the daughter of the company owner,” she says.  All four people look at her and she feels uncomfortable under the combined force of Wayne and Clark’s gaze.

            “What did he want?” Lucius asks, but Felicity shakes her head.

            “I don’t know but he’s up to something. I mean, he basically offered Oliver a job at a new Starling City branch,” Felicity says as the memory comes flowing back to her. She clarifies for Wayne’s sake. “Oliver is Green Arrow. His company –”

            “- is now in the hands of Ray Palmer. I know,” Wayne interrupts. “So he offers Oliver Queen a job, but he knows that he’s Green Arrow.”

            Clark brings his hand up to his chin, as the gears seem to turn in his head. “And he has to know that you’ve been recruiting for the Justice League. So why reach out to Oliver?”

            Felicity steps back and closes her eyes.

            “He’s setting a trap.”

            She opens her eyes and the florescent lights suddenly start giving her a headache. The familiar hum of the computers gives her some comfort and she runs her fingers over the keys. Then the blank stare changes into something more determined as she looks back up.

            “We go to LexCorp, hack into their mainframe, figure out their plan and go from there,” she says quietly.

            Clark frowns.

            “You said so yourself. It could be a trap. He might be expecting us.”

            Felicity grits her teeth. “So we take the bait. What else can we do? They’re going to attack this country, Clark, and we have no plan. We have to do something.”

            Silence settles in the large basement until Gordon sighs.

            “She’s right. There’s no other way. We have to figure out their timeline before we can alert the authorities.”

            Gordon lifts her eyes to meet Wayne’s and she straightens her back to match her steely stare as if she’s daring him to object.

            “You can’t bring in your Justice League for this. This calls for stealth not…flash,” he says. Clark steps forward as if to protest but Felicity touches his arm to stop him.

            “He’s right, but lucky for us, I have another team,” she says, looking at Gordon.

            “Smoak,” Gordon starts.

            “We’ve done this before. We can do it again,” Felicity says. “On the plane, you said you trusted me, Gordon. Do you trust me?”

            Gordon shakes her head, some strands of her hair falling over shoulder and as soon as Felicity’s heart begins to sink, an impish grin spreads across Gordon’s pale face.

            “I trust you. All right, Smoak. It’s your show.”

 

 

 

            Clark and Felicity watch as Wayne scales a building to get to his vehicle that’s hidden nearby. She shakes her head as he disappears from view without a sound.

            “Interesting man,” Clark comments, still looking up at where Batman used to be. Felicity was able to convince Clark that her hotel was only five minutes away and wouldn’t require a ride. However, he insisted on walking her back and changed into his civilian clothes. “Do you think he’ll join?”

            Felicity sighs as she puts her hair up into a ponytail. “He’s the only one I haven’t been able to recruit.”

            Clark raises an eyebrow. “You mean, he didn’t fall for your charm?”

             Felicity rolls her eyes at him and slaps him on the arm lightly. She then shakes out her fingers at the sting.

            “Sorry,” Clark says sheepishly. She just chuckles. As it fades, however, she looks up at the stars and sees a faint outline of the Bat signal.

            “He’s a busy man,” Felicity murmurs. A loud grumble interrupts her thoughts and she jerks her eyes away from the sky to look down at her stomach.

            “Hungry?” Clark asks with a grin.

            She looks up and laughs. “I guess so. Poisoned Batman interrupted my plans. Can we make a pit stop?”

            They walk in silence until they reach the bodega and Clark gives her a questioning look before they enter. Felicity grabs a basket and then starts roaming through the store. Eventually the basket is filled with a jar of peanut butter, a jar of strawberry jam, a loaf of sliced bread, and a six-pack of beer. As the clerk rings her up, Clark stops Felicity and reaches for his own wallet. She grins as he takes the large brown bag in his arms.

            When they leave the store, the night air feels cooler.

            She raises an eyebrow at him. “Rooftop?”

            “Where else?” Clark replies and grabs her by the waist once no one is around.

            They fly until they reach the hotel and he lands on the roof with grace.  Felicity takes a seat and sits cross-legged as she takes out the items from the bag. Then she pauses and frowns.

            “We forgot about knives,” she says.

            Clark just opens up the bag of bread and tears off a piece. Then he spins open the lid of the peanut butter and dunks the bread.

            “Hey,” Felicity laughs. “Gross.”

            He shrugs as he tosses it into his mouth. “It works.”

            They eat quietly for awhile until Felicity snaps open a can of beer. She smiles at the crisp hiss and takes a sip. She then tilts her head back in appreciation.

            “As much as I love red wine, this tastes so good right now,” she says as she hands Clark a beer. He eyes it with some suspicion.

            “I don’t really drink,” he says. She gapes at him, still holding the cool can in midair.

            “What?” Felicity sputters.

            He looks at her and then looks back at the can before he grabs it. He flicks open the tab and then hesitates.

            “Clark, you don’t have to. No peer pressure here,” she says, her eyes lighting up in amusement at his conflicted face. But he takes a large swig and then sighs.

            “That’s good,” he says.

            Suddenly, Felicity panics and grips her can tight. “Oh God, tell me you’re not an alcoholic.”

            He shakes his head. “No, I just don’t really drink.”

            She smiles and leans back, her hand touching the ground behind her, holding her weight up. “You have to maintain your Boy Scout image, I get it.”

            Clark only smiles back and takes another sip while looking up at the sky. She follows his gaze and sees the signal shining even brighter, but her thoughts are not on Batman.

            “My mother had a heart attack,” Felicity murmurs. She hears Clark shift to look at her but she keeps her eyes on the bat.

            “I’m sorry. Is she all right?” he asks softly.

            She nods. “Yeah, she’s okay now, but it scared me. I’m used to people getting hurt or dying. I mean as horrible as it sounds, the Justice League and Arrow…I see it all the time. But…”

            She pauses as she thinks of her mother lying in a hospital bed.

            “It’s when normal people are hurt – we forget that people die all the time and there’s nothing we can do to stop it,” Clark finishes for her.

            “Yeah,” Felicity whispers. She takes a long sip of her beer and swallows hard.

            “Did you tell Oliver?” he asks.

            Her heart twinges at his name.

            “Yeah, he came with me to see her.”

            “Good,” Clark murmurs.

            Felicity finally looks away from the sky. He pushes his glasses further up his nose and Felicity can’t help but smile at the way a dark curl falls just above his eyes.  

            He smiles and his dimples deepen. “I’ve learned that it’s better to go through hard times with the people you care about.”

            “Hmm,” Felicity sighs as she finishes up the last of her beer. She looks around to figure out where to put the empty can without littering only to have Clark snatch it from her grasp.  He stands with a playful grin and then tosses the can up after taking off his glasses.

            Felicity gasps and covers her mouth, as Clark’s eyes turn red. In a split second, red beams shoot out from his pupils and converge together as they hit the can that’s still in the air. The aluminum can completely disintegrates and Felicity can only see a light puff of smoke.

            She laughs.

            “Hurry up and finish yours. I want to throw it this time.”

            Superman chuckles before chugging the rest of his beer.

 

 

            Felicity sits in her Mini Cooper as she waits outside the Queen Consolidated building. When she finally sees two men marching out of the glass doors, she gets out of the car and joins in step with them. It takes a second before Oliver and John notice.

            “What are you doing here?” Felicity asks, glancing back at the towering building behind them. Then she looks back at Oliver who’s dressed in a expensive suit – a sight that she hasn’t seen in a long time.

            Oliver just grins and continues to walk as he looks straight ahead.

            “I could ask you the same question,” he says.

            John shakes his head and reaches across behind Oliver to tap Felicity’s shoulder. Felicity looks up at him to see his concern and nods reassuringly.

            “I’m okay, John,” she says softly.

            “Good,” he says with a warm smile and then glares at Oliver. “Now can you talk some sense into this man?”

            Felicity has been on this path often enough to know that Oliver is heading straight for Big Belly Burger, so she takes off her jacket to reveal her sleeveless dress so that she doesn’t have to deal with the heat. Then she glances at Oliver who flicks his eyes forward.

            “What are you up to, Oliver?” Felicity asks.

            Oliver shuts his eyes and stops in his tracks, making both Felicity and John retrace their steps to stand next to him.

            “I’m going to get the company back from Palmer.”

            “Okay…what’s so bad about that?” Felicity says with a confused look to John, who crosses his arms.

            “Wait for it,” he replies. “Tell her what you did up there, Oliver.”

            “I threatened the man,” Oliver says with gritted teeth and then lets out a breath of resignation. “I may have sounded a little too much like Arrow.”

            Felicity pinches the bridge of her nose and groans. “Oliver, tell me he doesn’t know that you’re Arrow.”

            “He doesn’t!” Oliver says before marching forward again. Then he smiles when he sees Big Belly Burger just up ahead. “Hey, you guys hungry? I’m hungry.”

            Felicity and John exchange glances behind his back before following him into the restaurant. John slides into the booth next to Felicity and they both stare at Oliver, who’s studying the menu.

            “Oliver, you order number 22 every time you come here,” Felicity says annoyed. “Come on, why did you threaten him?”

            He puts down the menu, clasps his hands together, and looks at Felicity.

            “We can talk about it later. You’re here for a reason,” he says and then waits expectantly.

            Felicity begins to speak but a waitress comes up with a bright smile and has her pen poised over her notepad. Oliver drapes his arm over the edge of the booth and then looks up at the waitress.

            “Could I get a number 23?” he asks politely, ignoring the roll of Felicity’s eyes.

            “Of course,” the waitress says and then takes the other orders at the table. She gathers up the menus and walks away. Oliver scratches at his stubble and turns his attention back to Felicity.

            “What’s going on, Felicity?” he asks quietly. John turns to face her as well.

            “We need to hack into LexCorp’s mainframe, but in order to do that, we actually have to enter the building. So I was thinking…” Felicity trails off as she glances at her two men.

            John leans back in the booth. “We’re going to do the Merlyn?”

            Felicity smiles. “You up for it, John?”

            “It’ll be like old times,” he says.

            Oliver only grins in response.

 

 

            John goes to the bathroom after wiping his mouth with a napkin, and Felicity looks down at her burger. She reaches out for her water and takes a sip, taking care to avoid eye contact with Oliver.

            “You do realize that this whole thing could be a trap, right? Luthor didn’t offer me a position because of my aerospace engineering skills,” Oliver says, interrupting the silence.

            “I know. That’s why we’re going to have Superman standing by in case anything goes wrong,” she answers, finally meeting his gaze.

            Oliver nods, but his thoughts don’t seem to be on the fact that Superman is their plan B. Felicity swallows and brushes her hair away from her eyes, feeling a bit uneasy.

            “Felicity.”

            “Yeah?”

            “You okay?” he asks, his voice soft. Felicity knows that this question could be applied broadly about any aspect of her life, but his eyes tell her that it’s in regard to the conversation they had in his car in the middle of a storm.

            Felicity hesitates before placing her hand over his. Without taking his eyes off her, he flips his palm up and catches her fingers. A small smile spreads across his tired face.

            “I’m okay,” she replies, smiling as well.

            He nods and looks down at their entwined hands. After a brief moment, he gently loosens his grasp and Felicity draws her hand away, leaving his out in the middle of the table - empty. Oliver quickly grabs his glass of coke when John appears behind Felicity.  

            John looks at Oliver curiously as he takes his seat again. “You guys all right?”

            Felicity clicks her tongue and tries to look at anything but the man sitting in front of them. With as much nonchalance she can draw up, she says, “Yup, we’re good.”

            “Right,” John says before he drinks the rest of his soda.

 

 

            “Smoak, you ready?” Gordon’s voice comes over through the airwaves. Something about hearing her boss over her comm link, makes her feel less nervous about the whole thing.

            “I’m ready,” she says, looking down at her red and yellow uniform. Felicity frowns. “Did you know that LexCorp _owns_ Big Belly Burger?”

            She glances at the large revolving glass door and sees Oliver enter the lobby in his best suit and a rather large briefcase. She just barely catches the twitch of his mouth at her words through the glass windows and a groan carries over through the comm links.

            “I did not have to know that. I feel sick,” Diggle mutters.

            Felicity opens her mouth but he interrupts her.

            “Don’t worry, he just went to the bathroom. I’m alone in here, but we sure could use a burger with your special sauce soon.”

            Felicity grins as she grips the white paper bag. She takes a deep breath and says, “Okay, okay. Hold your horses. I’m coming.”

            She walks towards the tower, glancing at the street cameras through the corner of her eyes, knowing that Gordon and Lucius are watching. As she places her hand on the revolving door, a new voice enters the chatter.

            “Be careful, Felicity,” Clark advises quietly.

            Felicity walks into the building and calmly addresses the security guard at the desk by lifting up the bag.

            “Delivery for Luke Cage?” she says.

            The security guard nods and points at a room with double doors. “Security personnel room.”

            “Thanks.”

            Felicity glances at Oliver, who’s held up by another man in a suit. She walks past them and hears a part of their conversation. Her stomach churns as she gets a glimpse of the man with curly blonde hair. He grins at Oliver as if they’re old friends.

            “You don’t remember me? I know you’ve been stranded on an island for five years, but it’s Harold!”

            Oliver’s eyes widen and he smiles, taking Harold’s hand.

            “Harold from school, of course I remember you! What are you doing here?”

            “I’m LexCorp’s lawyer. I’ve just been drawing up contracts for their upcoming merger. Wow, so crazy running into you here.”

            Felicity walks briskly away and knocks on the security personnel room. Gordon sounds irritated over the air.

            “Queen, you better wrap it up,” she hisses.

            The door opens abruptly and Felicity hands Diggle the bag. They both eye Oliver before Diggle gives her a ten dollar bill. She nods. He slams the door shut and she makes her way over to the elevator.

            As she waits, she taps her foot, willing herself not to be anxious but she can’t help but let out a tiny sigh of relief when Oliver shows up beside her. The elevator doors open and this time, Felicity immediately presses the “doors close” button.

            Felicity then slips out her decryption device and points it discreetly at the CCTV camera in the elevator. When the red light turns off, Felicity reaches for Oliver’s briefcase.

            “Quick,” she says as Oliver hands it to her.

            She snaps it open and pulls out a dress and a pair of high heels fit for an intern. As Felicity shrugs off the red jacket, Oliver turns around so that his back is to her. He clears his throat and tugs at his collar so that the knot of his tie loosens.

            Felicity strips down to her underwear and crams her uniform into the briefcase, ignoring the flush running up her body. She steps into her dress and tries to zip it up as far as she can. When she can’t manage the very top, she curses under her breath.

            “What is it?” Oliver asks, just barely turning his head.

            “Help,” she says and pivots so that Oliver can have access to the back of her dress. Felicity hears him turn and bites her lip as she feels his fingers graze against her skin as he pulls the zipper up. Oliver then hooks the clasp and steps away.

            Felicity slides her feet into her heels and watches as Oliver grabs the closed briefcase from the floor. After a second, Oliver pats his suit pocket and pulls out her glasses. With a small grin, she takes it from him and puts them on, her transformation complete. They then both look up to see numbers change on the elevator panel.

            “I can only take you to 24. The mainframe has its own special access. You’re on your own from there, Felicity,” Diggle says into his comm link.

            Oliver nods and looks at Felicity.

            “Ready?” he asks.

            “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

            The doors open and she steps out without a glance back. Felicity only turns when she hears the elevator doors close and she swallows, silently wishing him luck as he continues his ride up to meet with Luthor.

            Felicity looks straight ahead and holds her head up high as she strides through the hallways. She spies a woman, who’s looking down at her tablet and bumps into her. The woman drops her tablet and they both kneel down to grab it.

            “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I’m such a klutz,” Felicity apologizes. At the same time, she unhooks the woman’s ID badge that is hanging from the bottom of her fitted dress shirt. Felicity palms it and grabs the tablet with the same hand to give it to the woman.

            “It’s fine, it’s fine,” the woman mutters as she takes the tablet. Felicity immediately pulls her hand away, covering the badge. The woman stalks off in a huff and Felicity clips the badge to her own dress.

            “I have access,” Felicity murmurs as she continues down the hall.

            “Good for you, Smoak. I’ve taught you well,” Gordon says.

            Felicity grins.

            “You’ve got about fifteen minutes before the next patrol, Felicity,” Diggle warns.

            The grin disappears in a flash as she approaches the server room. Felicity holds the badge up to the panel and grips the door handle when she hears the lock click open. Pushing down, she enters the room and her eyes widen at the sight.

            The room is vast with machines set up in a row. Lights blink at different speeds and the wires curl around into a sleek pattern.

            “It’s beautiful,” Felicity whispers.

            LexCorp is not an aerospace engineering firm for nothing.

            “Felicity,” Clark says.

            “Right, sorry.”

            She sets up the laptop, pulls out the decryption device, and gets to work.

 

 

            Her heart pounds as she scrolls down. Felicity swears under her breath as the words scream out at her from the screen. Her mouth turns dry and she lets out a shaky breath.

            “Oliver, I’m so glad you’re here. Please, sit.” Felicity can hear Luthor over the comm link and she wants to vomit.

            “What is it, Felicity?” Diggle asks after some slight static.

            “Two missiles,” she whispers, her hands trembling as she waits for the rest of the file to download onto her device. “They’re going to target the Middle East and the Pentagon tomorrow.”

            There’s a silence over the airwaves.

            “Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Luthor,” she hears Oliver say with gritted teeth.

            “Call me Lex.”

            Felicity shuts her eyes as she grips the edge of the table. She whispers, “What do we do?”

            “Smoak, download the file and get the hell out of there,” Gordon says, her voice tight.

            Felicity’s fingers fly over the keyboard, as her chest gets tight. She had always known that it was going to be bad, but this isn’t just an attack on a city, this is global. The political ramifications of this would have a large ripple effect and the world, as she knows it, could be completely shattered by this time tomorrow.

            She nearly screams when she hears someone stumble into the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. A man with long dark scraggly hair almost crashes into a cart that’s holding one of the computers. He slowly gets a grip on the cart and brings himself up to stand. When he lifts his face, their eyes meet.

            The exhaustion and the scars crisscrossing against his wrinkles aren’t the things about this man that are haunting her. It’s the absolute hopelessness that has created the void in his eyes that makes her step back in fear. His plain clothes have patches of dried blood and dirt and it looks like he’s been wearing this for days on end.

            “W-who are you?” she asks unable to mask the tremble of her voice.

            Felicity hears a sharp intake of breath over the comms and she knows it’s Oliver.  

            When the man steps forward as he searches her face, she pats around blindly for anything sharp and comes up with nothing.

            “Stay back,” Felicity warns.

            “Smoak, what the hell is – Diggle, can you get to her?” Gordon barks. Felicity winces at the feedback it causes.

            “Luthor,” the man croaks.

            “Hold on, Felicity. I’m coming,” Dig says.

            “He’s going to attack the Pentagon,” the man says as he gains enough strength to start moving towards her again. She blinks and steps forward.

            “I know. Who are you?” Felicity asks again.

            The man grabs her hand and she jumps, but Felicity doesn’t slip her hand away. She stares at him, but he only peers at the screen. He jerks his eyes back up, his jaw tense.

            “You can’t stop him. I created the code – the code for the missiles,” he says quietly.

            “You created the key code?” Felicity whispers.

            He nods, the guilt settling across his face. They both startle when they hear someone shouting and running through the hallway. His eyes grow wild as he breathes heavily and Felicity puts her hand on his shoulder after some hesitation.

            “They captured you,” she says, as the realization dawns. “They forced you to make another one when Batman took it from the League of Assassins.”

            “You have to get out of here,” he hisses. He keeps glancing over his shoulder towards the entrance of the server room. “He’ll kill you.”

            She shakes her head and lifts her hand from him.

            “But they took it back. They took the key code back. Why did they keep you?” she murmurs.

            When he glances back once again, a thought strikes her. Felicity retreats slightly from him and licks her dry lips. Why would a man, who escaped from Luthor’s clutches, be wasting his time with her in the server room?

            “You didn’t escape, did you?” she whispers.

            His eyes turn sorrowful and a sudden chill runs through her body. The man shakes his head.

            “I’m so sorry,” he rasps.

            “Felicity!” Diggle exclaims as he rushes into the room with both hands on a gun pointed directly at the man.

            At Diggle’s outburst, the man’s lips part in surprise, but he’s not looking at Diggle. His haunted green eyes are still on her and it’s as if he’s seeing her for the first time.

            “Step away from her,” Diggle orders.

            The man shuts his eyes and lets out one long shuddering breath. “No.”

            “Step away, old man,” Diggle repeats, his voice harsh. He signals at Felicity to ease her way to him, but she remains rooted to her spot, her eyes widening at the scene unfolding behind her friend. Quickly, she grabs her decryption device and pockets it.

            “I’m going to have to ask you to drop your gun,” Smith croons with a larger gun in her hands. Diggle swallows when he feels the end of the barrel against the back of his head. With a reassuring look at Felicity, he places his gun gently on the floor.

            “On your knees now,” Smith commands him.

            Felicity’s heart hammers against her rib cage and she clutches onto the table, her fingers turning white, as she watches her friend follow Smith’s orders. She forces herself to breathe but chokes when she hears Luthor with Oliver through her earpiece.

            “What’s wrong, Oliver? You look a bit pale. Your girlfriend in trouble?” he asks in a smug tone. Sounds of a scuffle, heavy breathing, and the shouts of other men travel through comms.

            After a few seconds, there’s a piercing feedback on Green Arrow’s end that results in both Felicity and Diggle cringing in pain, and then there’s only the hollow sound of static.

            Felicity closes her eyes and then snaps them back open, displaying the glint of a fiery rage.

            “Felicity Smoak, fancy running into you here,” Smith grins. 


	14. Chapter 14

            “Clark,” Babs Gordon whispers into her mic as she watches the sound waves of each person fading into a straight line. Only Superman’s earpiece remains intact and she brings her fingers up slowly to touch her own.

            “I’m going in,” Superman says. His voice creates a lone wave on her screen and it brings the woman a sliver of hope.

            “Give them hell,” she replies. When Babs hears a rush of wind, she leans back and closes her eyes.

            They had all known that this was a trap, and most of all, Smoak knew it. But she _still went in_ with her team of three. Babs doesn’t know if she should feel proud of the younger woman or feel guilty about letting her go through with the plan. She wraps her fingers tight around her chair and opens her eyes when she hears the doors slide open.

            “So this is Project ORACLE,” Godfrey muses as he stares at his surroundings. Babs swings herself around to glare at the intruder.

            “You’re not supposed to be in here,” she snaps, wheeling forward. “How did you get in?”

            “Like hell I’m not supposed to be in here. This is part of _my_ department, Babs. You’re going to have to answer a few questions,” Godfrey says coolly as he strides forward.

            She grits her teeth.

            “I don’t have time for this, Jonas. Name another date and time, and I will answer whatever the hell you want, but –”

            “What does Clara have to do with Oracle?” he interjects, his eyes flashing.

            “What are you talking about?” Babs frowns.

            Godfrey pulls out a drive and it swings in front of Babs’ eyes on a silver chain.

            “You know what’s in here, Babs? Detailed information on people like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman - people who fly around in costumes and masks in their free time. Each file is watermarked ‘Oracle.’ And I found this in my wife’s safe. Why would she have this? What are you and Lucius up to?” Godfrey says, stepping closer as he fires off each question.

            Babs’ lips part as she tries to come up with an answer but her eyes are too busy following the drive as it swings like a pendulum. Did Godfrey just say he found it in Clara’s safe? Just as she’s about to prod the man about his wife, the doors open again and her jaw drops as Bruce Wayne strides in with Lucius.

            Bruce walks over to them in his designer suit and flashes a charming smile to Godfrey.

            “Jonas, I’d like to speak with Barbara and Lucius alone, please,” he says.

            “Mr. Wayne, I – ”

            “Now,” Bruce interrupts, his eyes turning cold.

            Godfrey grits his teeth and lifts up his drive. “I have questions, Mr. Wayne. I don’t know what you think you’re doing in my division, but –”

            Bruce steps forward so that he’s almost standing on Godfrey’s toes. He’s at least about a head taller than Godfrey and as he looks down at the man, Bruce sneers.

            “ _Your_ division, Jonas? Last I checked this company had my name on it, not yours,” Bruce says and then softens his tone. “I will tell you everything you need or want to know later. We can even make a day of it but for _now_ , I need you to leave.”

            Godfrey nods and then looks down at the USB drive in his hand.

            “You’ll let me know if Clara’s in trouble, won’t you?” he says quietly, this time addressing Babs.

            While still confused about how her college friend is connected to this whole ordeal, she can tell that Godfrey is genuinely worried, and as much as Godfrey infuriates her, Babs knows that he is a good husband.

            “You have my word, Jonas,” Babs says.

            Godfrey pockets the drive and with another curt nod, he turns on his heels to leave the basement. Babs lets out a small sigh of relief but then locks eyes with Bruce. When they hear the loud thud of doors closing, Babs, Bruce, and Lucius immediately turn to the screen.

            “Green Arrow and Felicity Smoak?” Bruce asks, his eyes scanning the different camera feeds.  Before Babs can answer, they see Felicity and John Diggle being led by a woman in black, who Babs can only assume is Smith, through the hallways of LexCorp.

            Bruce frowns. “How do we have eyes inside the building?”

            Lucius clears his throat. “Mr. Diggle was able to reroute the feeds in the security personnel room once Felicity hacked into the mainframe. The problem is, we only have access to only about half of the cameras. It was all he could manage before he went up to the server room.”

            Bruce steps back and tugs at his tie before he loosens it completely.

            Babs looks at him with her eyebrow raised.

            “Where’s Superman?” Bruce says, his voice getting husky as he leans back in to watch the screen.

            Babs and Lucius exchange glances before looking at Bruce again.

            “Uh, he went in as backup,” she replies.

            His eyes darken as he nods. “Good.”

 

 

            Felicity swallows her gasp when she feels the end of Smith’s gun touch her back. Smith grins and pushes her forward, indicating that Felicity isn’t moving fast enough for her. Felicity keeps her face blank, however, and just puts one foot of the other as the gears in her head rotate thousands times a second.

            Having Diggle walk down the hallway by her side is a huge comfort and she has never been so thankful for this man. She can see him sneak in glances at her through the corner of his eyes to make sure that she’s holding up okay. Felicity sidles a tiny bit closer to him so that her arm lightly brushes against his elbow to reassure her friend.

            Immediately the gun is back.

            “Felicity, dear. Hands to yourself, please,” Smith smirks.

            Felicity steps away and speaks. “Where are you taking us?”

            “To Lex Luthor himself,” Smith replies.

            Felicity glances over her shoulder to see the man shuffling behind them with a hired man standing on each side. She knows she should be angry, but the way he looks down at the ground reminds her that he’s a victim too.

            “Oliver,” Diggle breathes.

            She’s shaken out of her reverie to see Luthor’s office encased by three glass walls. The large mahogany desk sits in front of the massive window. The interior design seems to have once been impeccable with the sleek sofas and modern lamps. Now they lie upturned with pieces of shattered ceramic sprinkled over the floor.

            Her eyes land on Oliver who’s on his knees, blood running down his face. Bruises already formed near his eye, Felicity gulps as she sees the large black rifles aimed directly at his head, not even a foot away from him. The way he’s breathing hard makes her think he’s fractured his ribs. His eyes snap up when he hears them approaching and she sees him take her and Diggle into account, searching for any visible injuries.

            Luthor stands in front of the window with his hands clasped behind his back as if he’s observing the city below him. It’s only after Smith and her men shove Felicity and Diggle down to their knees besides Oliver that the business man turns around.

            “So good of you to come,” Luthor says with a wide grin. He then gestures towards the mess. “I’m sorry about the state of my office. It’s not usually like this.”

            The rage rises up within her again as his grin turns into a smirk. She suddenly feels hot and jerks away from a man who is encircling her wrists with a zip tie. Oliver, whose hands are already bound, glances at her with concern and wariness.

            “Why are you doing this, Luthor? What’s the point?” Felicity grinds her teeth and purposefully makes her voice sound deeper than usual. The hired man yanks her back so that he can finish the job of binding her hands.

            Luthor comes around from behind his desk and approaches her with some interest.

            “So you’re Felicity Smoak, the one that’s been causing all sorts of trouble for my friend, Smith. I have to say, when I saw you in Coast City, you weren’t at all what I expected,” he murmurs, looking down at her.

            “I’m only sorry that I wasn’t a bigger pain in your ass, you son of a – ” Felicity spits out.

            Lex places a finger on her lips and she wrenches away from him, not even noticing the way both Diggle and Oliver tensed at the same time.

            “Manners, Felicity. Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?” Luthor asks.

            The sound of a vase getting knocked over gains everyone’s attention and all eyes are on the man who’s on the verge of passing out and had used the decorative table to lean on for support. He falls onto his knees and breathes in deep.

            “I see you’ve met our coder. He’s been very helpful during his stay here,” Luthor says, grinning at Felicity.

            “You’re going to kill thousands of people by launching those missiles. For what?” Oliver demands, his wrists straining against the tight plastic.  Luthor jerks his eyes away from Felicity to look at Oliver. He arches his long eyebrow.

            “Only thousands. That’s a bit conservative,” Luthor mutters and then sighs. “I own an aerospace engineering firm. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been buying out companies left and right. In fact, even Queen Consolidated is in my sights. Not that it matters to you anymore, of course. But I’ve also acquired a few weapons firms and as well as our weapons are doing in the market, it could be much better. So if I bomb the Middle East and then bomb the Pentagon, it’ll mostly likely start a war. That is, if our president is as dumb as I think he is.”

            “You’re going to sell your weapons to the highest bidder,” Diggle says, the distaste thick in his voice.

            “Exactly,” Luthor replies.

            Felicity closes her eyes as the pieces start coming together. While Smith is in it for the political reasons, the mastermind behind this scheme is just working off the fumes of his own ambition. She opens her eyes, the despair creeping up from within.

            Then she blinks. Through the window, she sees a tiny figure moving towards them, which is odd considering they’re on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in Metropolis. The figure gets bigger as it gets closer, and Felicity can’t help but grin when she sees the red and blue.

            Oliver furrows his eyebrows at Felicity and then follows her gaze. She can almost feel the tension flow out from Oliver’s limbs as Superman zooms towards them. He almost looks massive as he barrels through the window, the force of his body shattering the glass. The window bursts as if it’s fallen victim to an explosion and Oliver covers Felicity with his body as the shards fly throughout the room.

            Superman flies towards Lex Luthor and tackles him down to the floor. Both of their bodies roll several times on the carpet until they come to a stop. Superman easily lifts himself up and it takes a moment for Luthor to get back on his feet. There’s blood on the corner of his mouth, and for a split second, Felicity feels glad. He’s unsteady on his legs and he falls back easily when Superman throws a punch.

            Clark stands and towers over Luthor, but waits for the man to get up again.

            “Give up the key code and the microprocessors, Luthor,” Superman orders.

            The men raise their guns and fire but the bullets don’t seem to make much of an impact on the superhero. Oliver uses this moment to leap up and jam his shoulder into a man standing near him. He swings his leg out to knock him off his feet and kicks the rifle away from him. Diggle follows his lead and begins attacking the guard on his side. Oliver takes on Smith, but she’s too fast for him, especially with his injuries. So he ends up on the ground again with a grunt. Smith jabs him with the end of an rifle so that he lays flat on the floor and Diggle is also eventually overpowered by two other men. He falls to a heap besides Oliver.

            Felicity bites her lip at her friends’ state, but watches Superman carefully as he doles out each attack with precision and brute force.

            Four men finally decide that they’ve had enough and lunge towards Superman only for him to fling them aside as if they’re nothing but mere flies. They crash against the wall, leaving a crack on the glass.

            “Luthor! It’s over!” Superman shouts.

            Luthor puts his hand up to order his men to stop fighting.  They retreat towards the wall, completely baffled and unnerved by the man in costume. Felicity holds her head up high as she watches Superman step towards Luthor.

            “Superman, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Luthor says after spitting out some blood.  “Very impressive, really. So I’ve done some research on you, because even aliens have to have a weakness. Luckily, I have a state of the art lab and scientists working around the clock to do research on a new material discovered on earth after a recent meteor shower.”

            Superman frowns. “What are you talking about, Luthor?”

            Luthor grins and pulls out a rock from his pocket. Felicity squints and frowns as she realizes that the rock is _glowing_ green. She straightens up to get a better look but gasps when she feels the butt of a rifle ram into her side.

            “You son of a bitch,” Oliver snarls, lifting his torso off the ground only for him to be kicked back down again.

            She breathes in shakily and waits for the pain to subside. When she lifts her head, she sees Oliver watching her, his eyes radiating anger. Felicity gives him the smallest of smiles to let him know that she’s okay, but that only seems to enrage him more.

            But Felicity’s eyes are soon on Superman who has turned completely pale. Luthor throws the rock up and then catches it as if he’s handling a baseball.  As he steps closer, Superman groans and clutches his head.

            “Superman,” Felicity rasps, almost pleading with him to be okay and to get them out of this already. But the terror grows when he falters to the ground and hunches over. She yells at Luthor. “What is that?”

            Luthor says nothing but only jerks his chin towards his men. Two of them come up to Superman, a little cautiously, and then grab him by the arms. Even in his weakened state, they have a hard time dragging him towards the broken window. The whoosh of wind ruffles their hair and Clark looks up. He gives Felicity a broken smile before he rests his eyes on Luthor who’s coming his way.

            “Interesting thing about this rock. It gives off some type of radiation, but it’s not an element from earth. We think, while we can’t be sure, that it comes from your home planet, Superman,” Luthor murmurs while staring at the item in his hand. Drops of sweat start to roll down Superman’s face as he tries to reel back from the rock. “Where are you from, Superman?”

            Clark says nothing but his chest heaves when he struggles to catch his breath. Luthor grins and glances over his shoulder.

            “Smith, you had the Justice League files. Where is he from?” Luthor demands.

            She eases up on Oliver and he slowly gets back up onto his knees. Smith smiles, still pointing the rifle at him.

            “Krypton,” she replies.

            Luthor tosses the rock back up in the air once more and when he catches it, he curls his fingers around tight. He looks up at Superman.

            “Let’s call it Kryptonite then,” he says before pushing Superman with all his might.

            “NO!” Felicity screams as she watches her friend tumble out the window. The wind seems to carry him for a second before his body plunges and then disappears from view. She almost expects to see him fly back up, his cape flowing out victoriously from behind him, but he never comes. Then she hears a muffled crash, a car alarm going off, and a few shrieks.

            She whispers as a tear falls from her eye in shock, “Clark.”

            Her heart pounds as she thinks about the man who shot at beer cans with her only a few days before, with his ridiculously dorky glasses and that stupid dark curl in his eyes. Felicity knows that her entire body is trembling, but she doesn’t care.

            “Your plan isn’t going to work,” she says quietly.

            Her low voice fills the room and everyone’s attention is on her. She ignores Oliver’s unreadable gaze that turns to anger once again as Luthor steps closer and gets down on one knee in front of her.

            “Excuse me?” Luthor says. As she looks up at his cool green eyes, she knows that he too is shaken by the fact that he just shoved a man out the window from the 29th floor. She gets a feeling that he’s the type to let others do the dirty work for him.

            “I’m going to stop you, _Lex_. I will do everything in my power to make sure your plan never works. I’ll be that thorn in your side until you end up in jail where you belong. I promise you this,” Felicity whispers, her eyes flashing with deep rooted determination, which she has no idea where it came from.

            His face freezes in shock for a sliver of a second and then his lips curl up into a smile as he chuckles.

            “Miss Smoak, you’re something else,” Luthor says and then pauses. He looks to Oliver and then glances back out the window. “I’m sorry, did you love him?”

            She has no response other than to bash the top of her head into that smug face. Luthor grunts at the impact and jerks back, blood streaming from his nose. Felicity can see Diggle smiling through the corner of her eyes and feels a surge of pride. When Luthor comes at her, with an open palm ready to strike, Oliver speaks.

            “Don’t you dare,” he says in a low voice, the threat absolutely clear.

            Luthor brings his hand down and then his eyes lighten up as if an idea just popped up in his thoughts. He glances at the man at the other wall and then snaps at Smith.

            “Take her. She can spend some quality time with our _friend_ ,” he orders.

            Felicity is jerked up to her feet by rough hands but she doesn’t struggle. She just keeps her eyes on Lex Luthor with gritted teeth as the man gets yanked up as well.

            “Luthor!” Oliver snarls, his eyes following her every step as she stumbles towards the door.

            “Where are you taking her?” Diggle asks, struggling with his bindings.

            Luthor doesn’t answer and only watches as she’s dragged out of the office, the man following just behind.

 

 

            Felicity grunts as she’s tossed to the floor of a small room and slowly brings herself up to a sitting position when she hears the door close. The click of the lock makes her grit her teeth but her mouth drops as she takes a closer look at the room she’s been confined to.

            A thin cot is pushed up against the wall, sheets unmade. Computer screens are lined up on a long table, wires flowing down to meet the outlets underneath. Felicity sees a trail of balled up pieces of paper that leads to an overflowing trashcan.

            The man stands up and then slowly makes his way over to the cot. He sits down, and brings his hands to his head. Felicity licks her lips and gets up from the floor as well.

            “This is where they keep you,” she croaks. The room has barely enough space for the man to take more than a couple of steps before he hits the far wall. He doesn’t answer and she glances up at the ceiling before looking at the man with some amount of pity. “How long?” she asks softly.

            He drops his hands. “Long enough.”

            “We have to do something,” Felicity says, hurrying over to the computers. She groans in frustration when she remembers that her wrists are tied up behind her. “Please. He’s going to kill so many people. We have to stop him.”

            “How? Lex Luthor does what he wants,” he says quietly.

            She whirls around, her face flushed in anger. “How can you say that? How can you just sit there and let this happen?”

            The man shoots up from the cot, his eyes flashing dangerously. “You think I didn’t try? You think I didn’t do everything I could possibly conceive of to stop – Lex Luthor doesn’t just kill people. He breaks them! He breaks you so that you’re nothing but his tool. You don’t know…you don’t know what he did to me. So don’t you tell me that I just sat around and did nothing.”

            Felicity swallows and steps back from him. Something about this man makes her want to comfort him but she can’t help but notice that this is the first time she hasn’t seen him look completely helpless.

            “I’m sorry, but are you sure there isn’t something we can do? What did you do for him?”

            The man looks up at the ceiling lights.

            “I built him the remote for the missiles using the microprocessors. He just has to put in the key code and he can launch them from anywhere in the world. I’ve built bombs for him – I – I’m sorry,” he whispers as he drops back down to the cot. “I – this is my own fault.”

            Felicity narrows her eyes. “Don’t say that. He kidnapped you. You were forced to do this,” she says firmly and then pauses before asking, “I – do you have any friends or family? They must be so worried about you.”

            The man just chuckles and closes his eyes. Her heart sinks when she realizes the answer.

            “I’m sorry,” she says.

            He then looks up at her with some intrigue. “How did a girl like you get involved in this mess?”

           Felicity looks down at her feet and rubs her arms.

            “It’s a long story.”

            The man nods and looks away in disappointment. For a second, she thinks it’s strange and then speaks.

            “I – I met a man who was trying to save his city by taking up his bow and arrow. As ridiculous as it sounds…I believed in the guy and in what he was doing, so I just wanted to help,” she says softly, a ghost of smile spreading across her lips as she thinks of the nights spent in the Foundry.

            “You just wanted to help,” he repeats quietly but it’s almost as if he’s speaking to himself. He smiles too, but it looks like he’s thinking about a faraway memory. “A woman once said that to me.”

            “What?” Felicity asks, with a confused frown.

            “I was working as a clerk at a store and the computer broke down. So…I took the hard drive apart right there on the floor and this woman, this customer, knelt down and handed me my screwdriver. She said she just wanted to help,” he says, looking off into the distance.

            Felicity eyes the door, uncertain on what to say to the man. “Oh.”

            “She was beautiful,” he whispers.

            Felicity looks away from the door and rest her eyes on the man, only now understanding the significance of his words. She wonders how long it’s been since he’s had a decent conversation with anyone…not hostile.

            “Was she the love of your life?” Felicity asks, a little playfully, smiling. Her nerves start to settle a bit and she tries to forget that they’re being held hostage, that Luthor is with Oliver and John doing God knows what to them, and that Clark – no, she can’t think about him.

            “I loved her, yes.”

            His grin fades away when he hears sounds from the other side of the door.

            “When I built the remote, I added something – a, a failsafe –” he says quickly in hushed tones. She leans in.

            “What?” she hisses.

            “A failsafe but you need the password. The password – it’s her –” the man whispers until he’s interrupted by the door opening.

            Smith stands tall with a syringe in her hand. Felicity backs away and the man stumbles in front of her as if to block her from any harm. Smith grins as she adds a little pressure to the end of the syringe making the liquid squirt out from the tip of the needle.

            “I’m glad you’re catching up, but it’s time to say goodnight.”

            Felicity frowns at her words, “What –”

            Smith brings down the man in just two moves and he lands on the ground.

            “Smith, don’t – ” he groans, reaching his hand out.

            Felicity yelps as Smith grabs her by the arm and pricks her neck with the needle. She feels the sharp pain when Smith pulls it out and Felicity looks down at the man. She wants to tell him that everything’s going to be okay, but her lips can’t move. The world tilts just as she realizes that she never asked him for his name, and she falls to the floor.

 

 

            Bruce Wayne, Lucius Fox, and Babs Gordon watch as Superman falls. Babs keeps waiting for him to pull up and fly back into the LexCorp building, but it doesn’t happen. His body flips over several times as he travels all the way down until an empty and parked taxi breaks his fall.

            Babs jumps and brings her hand over her mouth as the camera feed from the streets zooms down at the man. He lays there on top of the cab, twitching slightly.

            “How – how could this happen?” she whispers. Lucius brings his hand down to touch her shoulder as she continues to stare at the screen.

            “He’s still alive,” Bruce murmurs. He straightens up, his eyes glinting with purpose and he pulls off his tie hanging loosely around his neck.

            “It’s time to call in the Justice League,” he says quietly.

            Babs and Lucius both turn to stare at their CEO in shock. Babs’s fingers are poised just above the keyboard as if someone pressed pause on the scene.

            “Barbara, _now_ ,” Bruce says.

            She nods and her fingertips meet the keyboard. When she hears him turn on his feet, Babs wheels around and calls out anxiously.

            “What are you going to do?”

            He barely glances over his shoulder and she can only see the side of his face.

            “Consider this my tryout for the team,” Bruce says simply and then he strides back out of the basement.

 

 

            Clark Kent’s eyes shoot open as he gasps for air. He groans as the pain overwhelms his senses and he blinks to keep his focus. The gasps that pipe up around him tell him that he’s out in the middle of a street … and on top of a yellow taxi? He sits up and the cab creaks under his weight.

            “You okay, man?” a hot dog vendor asks from his stand. It seems as if the scruffy man had only been a few feet away from the site of his landing. The vendor comes up to help him off the car and Clark grips his arm with a nod of thanks. With a heave, he’s back on his feet and that’s when he notices the crowd around him.

            They cheer as he gives a shaky smile but then hushes when he falls to his knees.

            “We have to get you to the hospital, Superman,” the vendor says, putting his hand on his shoulder.

            “No, my friends – they’re in trouble,” Clark says, gritting his teeth. He lifts his head up to the tower in front of him.

            “But – ” the man starts to protest.

            A gust of wind blows at the crowd and the man looks up at the source.

            “What the …” the vendor says, his eyes widening at the sight.

            Clark recognizes the sound of the engines and sees the black jet that’s hovering above them in broad daylight. Cars honk as the door opens and Batman swings off from the jet to land in front of him.

            “Batman,” Clark says, the pain in his head starting to recede.

            Batman ducks his head and brings Clark’s arm around his shoulder.

            “Hang on,” Batman says with gritted teeth as he throws something at the jet. He pulls the black rope tight and gets ready to swing his legs to gain momentum.

            “Luthor has them,” Clark says, gripping the edge of Batman’s shoulder.

            “We have to go,” the dark knight says and then in a low voice, he says, “Alfred, I have him. Pull us up.”

            Clark feels the pull as the jet brings them up with the rope and he thrashes around to keep his sights on the LexCorp building.

            “We have to _help_ them!” he shouts.

            “Help is coming. You and I have other work to do,” Batman growls.

            Clark turns to face this enigma of a man and the dark eyes bore through the black mask. He realizes then that he has a choice to make in this very moment – whether or not to trust Batman. There’s an odd thought in the back of his mind that whatever choice he makes right now will carry weight far into his future.

            “What do you need me to do?” Clark asks.

 

 

_Three hours later_

 

            John Diggle groans as he opens his eyes, the sun glaring daggers at him. His mouth dry, he swallows and licks his lips. A face blocks the sun and John leans back, only for his head to hit something hard.

            “What?” he says groggily. He tries to bring his hand to his temple and remembers that his hands are bound behind his back.

            He recognizes the face as one of Luthor’s men and he grits his teeth when he sees the crowd of men surrounding him. They, however, seem to have their attention on something else. He turns his head to the right and then to the left and discerns that he’s on the outskirts of a busy plaza. Hundreds of people are packed into the plaza, all looking frightened. On the perimeter are armed personnel, forming a human blockade around the civilians.

            John squints. There’s a large platform at the far end and a group of armed men stand on it with their rifles pointing at one man.

            “Damn it,” he hisses as he recognizes the President of the United States.

            He frowns as he takes in the scenery of the city that seems familiar. It’s as if he’s seen it on the back of a postcard. John closes his eyes when he remembers reading the headlines only just this morning – _President Horne Speaks in Gotham City._

            There’s a loud rumble over his head and he looks up to see the el train speeding along on the track many feet above him and the rest of the crowd. The distraction shakes his thoughts about his surroundings and he remembers Oliver and Felicity. His stomach churns at their absence but he quickly tucks his worry away.

            Just worry about the task at hand. That’s what he’s learned in his years in the Army and it’s that developed instinct that he will always rely on when crisis hits. John gets up on his feet and picks his target.

            “You’ll do,” he says.

            John kicks one of the men in the back of the knees and the hopeless fight begins.

            They break him down and the pain bears down on him, relentless in its attack. When he hits the ground, he desperately tries not to think about Lyla and her beautiful curls. She smiles at him, though, from the bay window of their new house, her hand resting on top of her growing stomach.

            With a roar, he throws his head back to smash it against one of the countless skulls. He has to admit, Felicity has a point about this method. John brings his elbow into someone’s stomach only for a foot to meet his.

            Coughing, his knees crash onto the concrete.

            He looks up at the sun as a man finally aims a gun at his head.

            Then a streak of red flashes before his eyes and the gun is thrown up in the air. It clatters to the ground at his knee and it lays there, serene.  Then suddenly his hands are free and he looks up at a smiling face.

            “Looks like you could use some help,” the kid says.

            John grins.

            “Took you long enough,” he says as Barry helps him back up.

            “Hey, I got here as fast as I could,” Barry remarks with a shrug before kicking a guy in the legs.

           John glances down and picks up the gun. The kid’s already sweeping Luthor’s men off their feet, quite literally and John focuses his eyes on the president.

            After he’s finished, Barry stands besides him with barely a huff.

            “We can’t do this alone,” Barry states.

            John can’t keep the grin off his face, however, as he makes out two figures weaving through the crowd, punching whoever gets in their way.

            “Good thing we’re not,” he murmurs.

            Barry frowns as the two women approach with a group of men, who look like ninjas, covering their backs.

            “Who are they?” he asks.

            John chuckles. “Meet the Lance sisters.”

 

 

            Her eyes flutter open and she immediately becomes vexed. She is so fed up with this god awful day. In fact, she’s ready to take it out on anyone, namely Smith, because for Felicity, Smith’s the one who started all of it. The dart exchange at Iron Heights, the texts, the BASE jumping incident – she’s done. Felicity has had enough.

            “Felicity,” Oliver rasps.

            She looks up to see Oliver in his Arrow suit but he’s bound to a … silver pole. His quiver filled with arrows lies a few feet away from him. The frown stretches across her tired face when she realizes they’re in what looks like a subway, but she can see the sunset through the windows, quite up close. The carriage rattles as it travels along the tracks and she sees Smith who’s sitting on a seat, looking out at the city.

            They’re on the freaking el, Felicity realizes.

            “Are you serious?” she bursts out, the irritation seeping out of her voice. Smith turns her head to look at her and Felicity opens her mouth slightly when she sees the tears in the woman’s eyes.

            “Felicity,” Oliver says again, his eyes on something else entirely.

            Felicity follows his gaze to see the C-4 strapped along the walls and the console sitting at Smith’s feet.

            “Seriously?” she says again in a harsh tone. Felicity then looks through the windows of the exits of the carriage and realizes that the rest of the train is empty. She breathes out a sigh of relief.

            “Why are you doing this?” Oliver growls at Smith.

            But the woman only shakes her head and gazes back out the window.

            “I love this city. I spent my entire life here in Gotham,” she whispers.

            Felicity’s heart sinks. Gotham, they’re in Gotham.

            “Trust Horne to ruin even this,” Smith continues softly.

            At the mention of his name, Felicity remembers the image of the President on the front page of the _Gotham Gazette_. Then she realizes that he’s to speak at Gotham Square…today.

            “So don’t let him, Smith. You don’t have to do this,” Felicity speaks, her throat tightening at the thought of the train exploding. Oliver seems to be thinking along the same lines.

            “Blowing up the el isn’t going to do anything. You can’t even – ” Oliver starts.

            Smith rubs her thumb over a small device in her hand.

            “No –” Felicity croaks.

            She presses the button.

            Felicity hears the explosion first, far off somewhere along the el track – at least a few miles away. Then she feels the bottom of the el rumble as the track shakes. She grips onto the edge of the seat with her hands still tied behind her back.

            Smith pushes another button and the console on the floor of the carriage starts beeping.

            “It’s timed so that when the el reaches the end of the broken track, it’ll explode when it lands in the middle of Gotham Square,” she informs them hollowly.

            Felicity and Oliver both glance at the red number counting down. They have less than twenty minutes. Then they both meet each other’s eyes and Felicity swallows. They’ll get out of this, she thinks. They always do.

            He nods as if to agree.

            “We needed to spread out the Justice League. Divide and conquer,” Smith says, her lips turning in to a straight line.

            Felicity shuts her eyes. “So that you can launch the missiles.”

            Smith suddenly smiles. “Well that and Luthor wanted to make a statement. I wanted to ruin the President and his administration. This is what we came up with.”

            Oliver frowns. “A statement?”

            Smith reaches over and Felicity can’t help but hold her breath. She lets it out when she sees Smith pick up a tablet. The woman swipes on the screen several times and then turns it around so that her hostages can see the news footage.

            The camera angle is a bird’s eye view of Gotham Square. The score of faceless people packed into the square, surrounded by Luthor’s army makes Felicity sick to her stomach. Then the camera zooms in on the President’s face and Smith’s fingers turn white as she clenches the tablet.

            The President’s eyes are looking off at a distance and Felicity frowns. What is he looking at?

            She gets her answer when the camera pans over to the large screen on the other end of Gotham Square. The screen is so vast and high up that everyone can see the image of the man clearly.

            The man. His face pale, his lips are moving, spilling out words that Felicity can’t hear. Smith fixes that problem by turning up the volume.

            “It’s time for the world to change, Mr. President. These missile strikes will bring the catalyst we need for a new world, a world in which you do not belong,” he drones, his eyes void of any emotion.

            Oliver grits his teeth. “He’s the scapegoat. Everyone’s going to think this was his idea.”

            Felicity glares at Smith. “Haven’t you done enough to this man?”

            Smith stares at her with what looks like pity.       

            “You really don’t know who he is,” she says slowly.

            “What are you talking about?” Felicity asks, curling her fingers into a fist. They’re so screwed. There’s only so much time before the train gets derailed and the bomb goes off. There’s no time to be chatting it up with Smith, but she can’t help it. She’s drawn to the subject of the man.

            “His legal name is Darren Smoak,” Smith says softly.

 

 

            Felicity blinks.

            She knows that she didn’t just mishear what Smith said and she wishes that Smith still had that smug smile on her face, so that she could just be angry. The tears are there welling up in the woman’s hazel eyes at the thought of blowing up the city even as she tells Felicity that she was trapped in a room with her father just a few hours ago.

            Her father, whose face is projected on the iconic screen of Gotham Square, left her when she was freaking three.

            What kills her though is the fact that Smith is telling her, not to be mean or evil, but because she’s reached some emotional epiphany of her own. How could the woman be so selfish and _cry_ , after all this time?

            So she _is_ angry.

            “Shut up,” Felicity whispers.

            “Felicity,” Oliver says, the concern plain and clear.

            “You don’t get to do this, Smith. You don’t get to do this to me,” Felicity says, her voice trembling as she rises from her knees.

            “Felicity, hey, look at me. Don’t – ” Oliver says, his eyes darting back and forth from one woman to the next.

            Felicity grunts and charges at Smith, knocking off her balance and they both fall to the floor, next to the console. She knees the woman in the stomach, ignoring the stars bursting in her head when Smith punches her in the face.

            “Smith!” Oliver roars, yanking away from the pole only to be pulled back again.

            Smith grabs Felicity and throws her over her shoulder so that she lands on her back, the air knocked out of her. Felicity gasps and slowly moves her neck to see Oliver staring at her. A tear drops from her eye and he parts his lips, desperate to go to her.

            But his eyes catch Smith’s movements and he stiffens as she comes closer to him with a small knife in her hand. Felicity opens her mouth to protest but she’s struggling to breathe normally, let alone speak. Oliver looks like he’s bracing himself for the action, but Smith only reaches behind him. With a snip, he’s free.

            Oliver grabs Smith’s neck with both hands and throws her against the wall of the el. His grip tightens as he glares at her, but Felicity knows he sees the knife in Smith’s hand through the corner of his eyes.

            Smith smiles.

            “Are you going to kill me? I thought you didn’t do that sort of thing anymore,” she says, choking for air.

            Felicity shuts her eyes and uses all of her strength to lift herself up from the ground. She knows that Oliver’s actually considering it and that shoots a sharp pain within her. She never should have attacked Smith – not like that, in pure anger, without a plan.

            “Oliver,” Felicity whispers and tells him what Oliver tried to tell her before she charged at Smith. “Don’t.”

            He lets go and Smith shoves him away from her before she sinks down to get some air. She then stands up and rests her eyes on Felicity. Felicity swallows hard and stares at her right back as the woman walks closer to her.

            Oliver makes a move to grab her but Felicity shakes her head.

            Smith isn’t going to kill her. She’s had so many chances over the past few months, but she never followed through on any of her threats.

            Smith reaches over and cuts the plastic wrapped around her wrists. Felicity brings them in front of her and twists them, enjoying for a brief second the freedom of movement.

            It’s only for a brief second because Smith immediately pounces on Oliver. He has no time to reach for his quiver and Smith shoves him up against the windows of the el. Her face shows no emotion as she punches him in the ribs and then smashes his head and shoulders against the glass.

            The glass starts to crack.

            “Smith,” Felicity yells as she moves to join the fray, but Oliver meets her eyes.

            She stops.

            The glass completely shatters after Oliver grunts and shifts his body so that Smith is thrown against the pane. Her head is out in the air, and Felicity can hear the whip of the wind from being so high up in the city. Oliver then pulls her back in and throws her onto the ground.

            “Stop the bomb. Turn it off,” he snarls.

            “No,” Smith replies.

            “If you love this city, you’ll do it,” Felicity says.

            Smith casts her eyes down at the console and then slowly lifts them back up to stare at Felicity.

            “But I love my husband more,” she whispers and throws herself once again against Oliver towards the broken window.

            They struggle and this time, Oliver is the one hanging out of the window, trying to pry Smith’s hands off his neck. Terror seizes Felicity as she realizes that Oliver is about to die in Gotham City in front of her and she can’t have that happen to her partner.

            Felicity sprints towards them and shoves Smith off of him. It works, to her shock, and Oliver pulls himself back into the relative safety of the el. Smith, however, is thrown out the window and grabs the edge of the broken glass. The blood starts to seep from her hand as she holds onto the only thing keeping her alive.

            Felicity grunts as she wraps her hand around Smith’s wrist and tries to bring her in to no avail. The wind is working against her. Oliver tries to reach for Smith as well, but Smith isn’t having any of it.

            “Smith, come on,” Felicity groans as the strength in her runs out.

            “Smith,” Oliver roars against the sound of the wind as he tries once more to bring her in.

            The wind flaps the woman’s hair around and it eventually latches onto the mask. The black fabric flies off and as her dark, beautiful hair flows out from her face, Felicity sees her.

            She’s seen her before.

            “Clara. Clara Godfrey,” Felicity whispers.

            Smith smiles, the sorrow casting a shadow in her eyes.

            “Tell Jonas,” she says simply and lets go.

            Felicity almost falls out with her in the momentum but Oliver wraps his arm around her waist to bring her back in. She breathes heavily as she watches the woman tumble in the air and then disappear into a tiny speck.

            “No,” Felicity whispers.

            Oliver holds her as they overlook the city below, the sun almost disappearing in the horizon, leaving behind only the glow of the pink rays. Then they hear a beep and they turn together to look down at the console.  

            They dash to the metal box and Felicity licks her lips as she examines the keys and the panel that displays the time left until the whole thing blows. Two minutes and seventeen seconds.

            “Oliver,” she whispers.

            He’s too busy gliding his hand over the console, prying away at the side to look for the wires, to respond.

            A loud crash makes both of them look out through the window. Felicity squints as she tries to make out what’s creating the commotion and her eyes widen when she recognizes Sinestro from Coast City.

            Oliver curses under his breath.

            “Great. Just great,” Felicity mutters, her voice hitches, however, and it undermines the dry sarcasm.

            Sinestro, in his yellow uniform, has light shooting out of his hands, creating a large force field that’s floating in mid air. Inside the yellow ball of light is a bus full of people, who are screaming and pawing away at the windows. Their shrieks get louder when Sinestro moves them and places the bus with a loud thud onto the broken track. The el is still speeding along, but they can see smoke rising from the explosion in the distance to reveal the bus teetering on the very edge where the chunk of the track was blown off.

            Her heart sinks as she realizes that the people only have a few precious moments before they plunge to their deaths. She jerks her eyes away to look at Oliver who’s still staring out the window.

            “Oliver,” Felicity croaks.

            He turns to her, a little distracted by the scene outside, but then the expression on her face causes him to tense up. He then looks down at the console to continue his work with the wires as if she didn’t just say his name.

            “Oliver,” she says again.

            Oliver doesn’t look up. “We can do this. Red and then blue – ”

            They both glance out the window when they hear a bloodcurdling scream from the bus, that’s nearly losing its balance.

            “Go, you have to save them,” she whispers, grabbing his wrist.

            He pulls away and shakes his head.

            “No way in hell,” he says and reaches down for the console again.

            The panic squeezes her heart when she sees the bus falter. She grasps his face with both hands as she breathes heavily.

            “You have to _go_ ,” Felicity hisses. His eyes darken as the rage storms.

            “Felicity, I am not leaving you here,” he snaps, but he can’t help but shoot a glance towards the bus. Felicity can see the tortured look on his face and takes comfort in the fact that Oliver Queen is a good man.

            “I love you,” she whispers as she glides her thumb up across his cheek, wiping away a tear. Then with all her strength, Felicity shoves him back. His face twists up as if he feels betrayed, but she stands up and roars.

            “Oliver Queen, if you don’t leave right now, be the hero that I _know_ you are, and save those people, I will never forgive you, so GO!”

            She’s never seen him so broken before except for the time Moira Queen died, but he gets on his feet like she knew he would. Oliver grabs his quiver and shoots an arrow out through the window. The rope gets taut and he only has a second before the rope breaks from the speed of the el. Standing by the window, he gives her one long, last look and then he shuts his eyes before diving out into the air.

            Felicity stares out at the swinging figure, blinks, and then looks back down at the console. She has no idea what to do with the wires and there’s less than a minute left before she gets incinerated with the train, along with hundreds of other people.

            You’re going to die in here, a voice in her head speaks.

            “Red? Blue? Oh God,” Felicity whispers as she touches the wires.

            Then she gazes down at the silver keys, the letters arranged in a row. The image of the man floats up into her head and Felicity squeezes out the thought that this man is named Darren Smoak. Then she concentrates on the words he spoke in his room. He said that he also made bombs, and if he made a failsafe for the missiles, then perhaps…he did the same for –

            “Please,” she says as she lifts her fingers and hovers them over the keys.

            The password – before he was interrupted by Smith, he said that there was a password. He told her this after he told her the story of how he met the love of his life. Felicity blinks.

            No. It couldn’t be…

            She types in “Margaret” quickly and holds her breath. But the numbers keep counting down and Felicity closes her eyes. They snap right back open as she realizes that her mother hates being called Margaret.

            Uncertainly, she presses down on the letters M, E, G, and S.

            The red numbers flicker and then stop at exactly at nineteen seconds.

            Felicity lets out a whoop and pumps her fist into the air.

            “YES!”

            But the rattle of the train reminds her that she’s still in danger as the el is about to be derailed in less than … eighteen seconds. Felicity hurries over to the broken window to look down and can see the square filled with people. She leans her head out and notes that the gap of the broken track is only a few feet away. She’s relieved to see that the bus is empty, however, and she whispers a thank you into the wind.

            Felicity peers down and wonders if there’s any way that she could survive if she jumps.

            “Yeah, like in what universe,” she mutters to herself, but she decides she has a better shot at surviving, if she jumps rather than staying inside. Her feet stumble as she carefully gets up on the edge of the window pane and she hangs onto the broken glass.

            Felicity closes her eyes and jumps into the wind.

            The air is knocked out of her when a large green mass hits her and circles his arm around her. She lets out a sigh of relief as Green Arrow shoots another arrow towards the rooftop of a nearby skyscraper and they tumble onto the top of the building.

            Felicity gets up and she knows she should be worrying about the el train that she just left behind, that’s about to make its way down to the crowd in the square. But she can only stare at the man in front of her, his broad torso shuddering as he regains his breath. His eyes are staring right back at her as he glowers.

            He strides towards her and growls, “Don’t you _ever_ do that to me again.”

            Oliver grabs her by the shoulders and brings his lips over hers. He deepens the kiss hungrily, his tongue grazing over hers and she moans against his chapped, rough lips. Oliver then grasps the back of her head with one hand as if to bring her closer because she can never be close enough. She can barely think straight and grips onto his arms tight so that she doesn’t fall to the ground for the lack of air.

            When he finally pulls away, he opens his eyes and glides his thumb over her cheek, the tenderness making her go weak in the knees.

            “I love you,” Oliver whispers before leaning back down and he gives her a gentler kiss.

            Felicity closes her eyes and parts her lips once more.

            “Seriously? I’d congratulate you lovebirds and all, but we have a bit of a _crisis_ going on right now!” someone shouts from up above, his voice slightly strained.

            They jerk away from each other to look up and find Hal Jordan floating up in the air, grunting with his ring is aimed at the el. The entire train is encompassed by green light, completely off the tracks, and he’s struggling to keep it up in the air. Felicity gulps and Oliver steps away from her side to hurry to the edge of the roof.

            “Oh let the _lovebirds_ have their moment,” a deep voice calls out from the other side of the building. Felicity’s grin spreads as wide as it can get as Wonder Woman flies over them to join Green Lantern.

            She gets underneath the train and the metal creaks as it rests on her shoulders.

            “Hey, no, I’ve got this,” Hal says sheepishly and then mutters, “Jesus, not again.”

            Wonder Woman flies over towards the nearby bay and throws it over the water. The train creates a giant splash and a massive wave that even Felicity can make out in the dark from miles away on a rooftop. Felicity joins Oliver at the edge and he turns to look at her. He puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her in close.

            She rests her head on his leather jacket, suddenly exhausted by the day’s events and watches Wonder Woman as she and Green Lantern land besides them on top of the skyscraper.

            “Luthor’s men. The president,” Oliver asks.

            “The Flash and your friend Diggle got it under control, along with a bunch of ninjas. Wonder Woman and I took out Sinestro,” Hal informs him.

            Felicity lifts her head and can see the man’s face still playing on the large screen of the square. To see it from here and not on a tablet, the realization that he _is_ Darren Smoak hits her like a ton of bricks. Oliver follows her gaze and tightens his grip on her.

            “The missiles,” she croaks.

            “We’re actually on our way. Batman and Superman located them both. We were sent to find you, but it took longer than we expected. They moved you before we got to LexCorp,” Wonder Woman says, stepping forward to observe the scene below them as well.

            Felicity still has Darren Smoak on her mind and for some reason, she knows where he will be. She turns to face Oliver and he looks down at her, as if he already knows what she’s going to say.

            “I have to save him,” Felicity whispers.

            Oliver nods.

            “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

            Clark looks up at the two imposing missiles and then looks back to Bruce Wayne. The man, however, peers at the consoles that are placed behind the missiles and pulls his gloves off to position his fingers over the screen.

            “What are you doing?” Clark asks sharply and walks around to look over Bruce’s shoulder. His new ally doesn’t answer and only presses keys on the touch screen.

            Clark waits as patiently as he can as he tries to follow the series of dialog boxes popping up on the screen. After a long five minutes, Superman gives up and starts pacing behind Batman. They had basically marched their way through the secret black ops base and had to inevitably engage in a fight with the specialists on the premises before the pair was able to convince them that they knew what they were doing.

            The commander stares at Clark and then at Bruce through his bruised eyes.

            “I’m telling you – you need the key code. Only three people in this country have the security clearance to use –”

            Bruce doesn’t even look up as he snarls, “For the last time, the key code is in the hands of a bald lunatic, because you were stupid enough to let someone onto your base and impersonate –”

            “Batman,” Clark interrupts. “Please.”

            Bruce continues his work but his entire body turns rigid when an alarm goes off. Clark and the commander rush towards him to see a countdown timer blinking red. The numbers read “00:00:30”.

            Clark swallows as the numbers seem to expand in his vision and they’re all that he can see. He can barely hear Bruce swearing under his breath and he only feels a sliver of relief when he realizes that the numbers aren’t changing.

            “Only thirty seconds,” Clark murmurs. “Batman, can you –”

            Bruce steps away from the console and lets out a sharp breath. “I was trying to disable them before he could access it remotely. It’s too late. Luthor has access now.”

            The commander blanches and then blinks before he brings his hand to his ear. After a moment of silence, his eyes darken as he states flatly, “A.R.G.U.S. is coming.”

            “Goddammit, Waller,” Bruce hisses.

            Clark stiffens and then says, “I can’t carry both of them at the same time.”

            “What?” Bruce asks, finally tearing his eyes away from the screen. When he meets Clark’s eyes, Superman hardens his gaze so that the man can understand his point. When the realization dawns, the dark knight nods, his jaw tight.

            “There’s a body of water twenty miles out from here,” the billionaire informs him.

            Clark frowns. “But what about the other missile?”

            Bruce opens his mouth and then pauses. He shakes his head, his eyes hollow. “I don’t know.”

            A quiet beep cuts through the conversation and all eyes are on the screen. The numbers start changing and before he can even take a deep breath, Clark shoots up into the air as fast as he can. The pressure of the wind squeezes down on him like never before and he has to focus on an oddly shaped cloud to keep his control. Then Superman jerks to a stop and turns towards the launching point.

            Twin grey pinpricks grow as the missiles hurtle through the air. He narrows his eyes as the missiles suddenly split ways and he has a nanosecond to decide which one to go after.

            Clark chooses the one on the left and punches his fist out in front of him to gain velocity. When he reaches the missile, he grunts as he gets underneath the weapon and then uses his shoulders and arms to wrap himself around the width. The force and the metal burn him but he grits his teeth as Clark tries to slow it down so that he can change the trajectory.

            “Come on,” he whispers, the sweat rolling down his face, stinging his eyes. He then hears the sound of engines groaning and his heart sinks as he realizes what Batman is doing.

            The other missile.

            Clark shakes his head. He can’t think about that now with one on top of him. The sun is nearly down but he can still make out the landscape that lies in front of him. When he sees a large lake, Clark grinds his teeth even harder as he shoves his shoulder against the metal to jar it from its planned path.

            Even though it’s been a few hours since his exposure to … _Kryptonite_ , the effects are still lasting and he doesn’t have the usual amount of strength. When he hears an explosion echoing into his ears from a few miles away, Clark lets out a pained roar to bring forth the last pocket of energy he has left.

            His body acts as a javelin as he burrows through the air towards the lake. From the looks of it, the place seems deserted for miles but he hesitates before heaving the missile off of his body. The weapon crashes into the water and Clark falters as he feels the complete depletion of his strength.

            He should fly away, he thinks in a slight daze. Then he closes his eyes as his body starts to drop into a free fall. The swinging of his legs as if to dig his heels into the clouds proves to be futile and for the second time today, Clark wonders if he’s going to die.

            Then he hears a deep rumble from the lake and the missile explodes, blowing a mushroom cloud up into the air along with water that evaporates quickly due to the heat. Clark can feel the waves of debris, water, heat, and radiation as he falls and grunts at a strong force that rams into him. He looks down to see muscular arms wrapped around his broad torso.

            Beautiful dark eyes cast down on him as a kind smile dances across his rescuer’s lips. Then after a second, the woman shifts his weight so that his arm is around her shoulders and she flies them away from the site of the explosion.

            “Are you all right, Superman?” she asks, her voice like a deep, still river.

            “Yes. Thank you,” he rasps. Then his stomach twists as he sees another mushroom cloud of dark smoke floating in mid air about eighteen miles away. “Batman.”

            “Don’t worry. Hal has him,” she says and then frowns. “At least, I believe so.”

            Clark stares at the cloud of smoke and only wishes that they could get to his partner faster.

 

 

            “Master Wayne, you – please, don’t do this,” Alfred says over the intercom. Bruce only grits his teeth as he pulls a lever down. His beloved jet slowly hums to life and begins to rise up into the air.

            “You know I have to,” he responds, keeping his eyes on the controls as he makes his way towards the second missile.

            His friend falls silent and lets out a small breath.

            “Always so stubborn.”

            “Alfred, we both know that you wouldn’t have it any other way. It keeps things interesting,” Bruce says as he turns on one of the switches on the display above his head.

            Alfred harrumphs. “I’ve had enough _interesting_ to last me a lifetime.”

            Bruce only grins as he looks down at the screen to track the missile. Alfred speaks up again, this time with less irritation.

            “Well, if you must…chase down a nuclear missile in your jet, then you should know that the missile is about ten miles away, northeast from your position.”

            Sure enough, his butler is correct and Bruce narrows his eyes as he looks through the large windshield. He can just make out the missile and he pushes the lever back up before he flips two more switches.

            “Thank you, Alfred,” he murmurs as the crosshairs show up on the screen.

            The screen beeps and blinks red in warning. Whoever designed this intelligent missile made sure that it would reach its destination. He swears again under his breath as he disengages his own weapons and then accelerates his jet.

            “What are you doing?” Alfred asks, his voice intermixed with static as the aircraft rises higher.

            “I have to make impact,” Bruce answers. The jet shoots almost straight up and is now at a higher altitude than the missile. Then he points the nose of the jet downwards at the correct angle.

           There’s a silence at the other end of the radio.

            “Of course,” Alfred then replies. “Try not to kill yourself in the process. I’ve gotten quite accustomed to my job and don’t want to look for another at my age.”

            Bruce shakes his head and almost lets out a chuckle.

            “I’ll try my best, Alfred,” he says and then pauses. “Alfred, if I don’t –”

            “Master Wayne. Just get it done.”

            Bruce smirks.

            “Right.”

            The jet whips through the air and the controls shake beneath his hands as it gathers speed. For a split second, he thinks he might have misjudged the distance but then he sees the massive and expensive hunk of metal just below. He waits until the very last second to make sure that the jet will hit its target and then slams down on the eject button.

            The bottom of his stomach drops as the chair he’s strapped into falls from the aircraft and his head jerks back when the force of the explosion hits him. His chair twists around in the wind and the parachute opens. A loud tearing sound echoes in his ears and he knows that the debris has made the parachute useless.  

            Coughing, Bruce clicks his seatbelt off and he slips out from the chair. His cape has some aerodynamic ability but not much. Besides that, his lungs feel like they’re burning from the inside.

            “Master Wayne!”

            Alfred’s voice bounces within his cowl and Bruce growls in pain. The debris shower over him and he sees the ground getting closer. Just as he’s about to close his eyes to brace for impact, he sees a flash of green light. 

            Bruce’s body bounces softly onto the surface of the light and he realizes he’s trapped in some sort of … light bubble. He looks up to see Green Lantern hovering a few feet away from him. He tugs at his ring and they both fly away from the explosion.

            With the panic about crashing into the earth gone, Batman breathes in and then breathes out. He concentrates on the rhythm of his airflow until he feels semi-normal.

            “So you’re the Bat,” Green Lantern calls out.

            Bruce supposes he should probably thank the guy in green spandex but it’s more effort than he’s willing to spend at the moment. So he stays silent and just jerks his head as a way to show his appreciation.

            “Sorry we got here so late. We got held up by a derailed train in Gotham,” Green Lantern says.

            At this Bruce looks up at him sharply and growls, “What?”

            “Yeah, Luthor’s men were holding the president and everyone in the crowd hostage in the square. Then there was a bomb inside the train, which Felicity took care of, but then it was still getting – uh, look, we took care of it. Your city’s safe, Batman,” Green Lantern reassures him. He sneaks glances at Bruce as if he’s on uncertain ground.

            Anger flashes through Bruce and he wants to feel his knuckles crack as they burrow themselves into Luthor’s ugly face. No one holds his city hostage.

            “Where is Luthor?” he growls.

            Green Lantern pauses and then jerks out of his train of thought as the ground gets closer. He lands them both safely a few feet from the base. Superman and Wonder Woman, who seemed to have been waiting for them, rush over with looks of concern.

            “Batman, you all right?” Clark asks.

            “I’m fine. Did you get your missile?” Bruce asks.

            “It’s been taken care of,” Clark replies. “This is Wonder Woman.”

            Wonder Woman smiles at him and claps him on the back. The force of her hand causes Bruce to step forward to regain his balance. He looks up at her, eyes flashing. Wonder Woman frowns as she peers at her open palm.

            “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to use so much force. I’ve seen men congratulate each other in this way. I thought it was your custom,” she apologizes. “You neutralized the threat even without the counter code. That was quick thinking.”

            The corners of his lips turn up without Bruce’s permission.

            “Thank you,” he says.

            He turns back towards the base before he calls out over his shoulder. “Lantern, where did you say Luthor was again?”

            Green Lantern and the rest jog after him.

            “Uh, I didn’t. Felicity said he’s in the Daily Planet building in Metropolis. I dropped her and Green Arrow off there.”

            Clark stops Green Lantern in his tracks.

            “You did what?” he asks, his voice tight.

            Lantern bites his lip.

            “She said they would take care of it and that you guys needed me more,” he replies and then pauses before he says, “But by the look on her face, there’s something personal about all of this for her.”

            Clark sighs and then nods. “All right. Let’s move.”

 

 

            Felicity can feel Oliver staring at her as they crouch by the entrance to the Daily Planet but before she can comment on it, he stands up and aims his arrow at the glass door. The trick arrow embeds itself into the glass, the cracks spreading at the impact. After a few beeps, the glass shatters.

            He holds out his hand.

            She takes it and he leads her into the lobby. He lets go quickly and shoots his arrows at the two men charging towards them. They fall to the ground, groaning and clutching their thighs. Arrow leans down and squeezes down on one of the men’s shoulder.

            “Where’s Luthor? Where’s Darren Smoak?” he growls.

            “Fuck you,” the man snaps, his eyes tearing up in pain.

            Oliver twists the arrow in the man’s leg and he howls while he writhes on the lobby floor.

            “Okay, okay. They’re in the basement,” the man whimpers.

            Felicity heads straight for the elevator without waiting for Oliver. Within a few seconds, she hears two punches and then the sound of his footsteps just behind her.

            “You’ll never get him!” The man’s weak shout echoes throughout the lobby. “God damn it, you son of a bitch.”

            Felicity glances over her shoulder but pays the man no mind. She goes for the elevator button, but Oliver grabs her arm gently.

            “Hey.”

            Felicity faces him and her heart twists at the way he looks down at her. She sees the traces of uncertainty in his eyes and she realizes he’s terrified. Oliver closes his eyes and then opens them, the resolve settling back in his gaze.

            “Felicity, you have to promise me. This is no different from our missions in Starling City. You can’t – I need to be able to predict your moves, reactions –” he says, his hand still on her arm.

            She nods.

            “Okay. I won’t do anything crazy,” Felicity says before turning back to the elevator button. Her voice sounds cold even to her own ears and immediately she wants to give him a reassuring smile. But something keeps her from doing so. That’s her father down there. The man who left her when she was only three is now in the clutches of a mad man. So how can Oliver, who has done some idiotic things when it came to his loved ones, expect her to treat this like a regular mission?

            His grip tightens.

            “Felicity, I mean it. Do you understand –”

            She turns around with some force and says in low voice, “I understand.”

            Her breaths get a little irregular as Oliver closes his mouth. He lets go of her arm but doesn’t break the gaze as he leans down to press the button. The doors ding as they open and Felicity pivots to enter the elevator.

            Oliver steps in as well, and he takes his position in front of her as he sends the elevator down.

            “How did you know he was here?” he asks, his voice tight and his back still facing her. 

            Felicity rubs her arms.

            “Superman mentioned that Luthor used to have his offices here. I recognized the wall panels in the video.”

            Oliver glances over his shoulder, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

            “You noticed that?” he asks, with some awe.

            The tension leaves the elevator as Felicity smiles back.

            She hesitates for a moment before leaning forward to rest her head against his back and appreciates how solid he feels, like he’d never give way under the weight of  her emotions and thoughts. An image of them standing like this in front of a kitchen sink as he does the dishes shoots through her mind before she can nip it in the bud.

            Felicity feels the leather move underneath her cheek as he lets out a soft sigh.

            “I just need you to be safe,” he whispers.

            “I know,” she murmurs.

            The elevator dings again in warning and her partner stiffens. She steps back as he lifts his bow and arrow in one swift action. The gunmen have no time to fire as Oliver shoots his trick arrows the second the elevator doors slide open.

            Arrow stands in between the doors to block Felicity from any stray bullets, and when one of the gunmen gets back up from the floor, he fires another arrow. Once they all stay down for longer than three seconds, Oliver steps out of the elevator with Felicity following close behind.

            The basement is dark with only a few florescent ceiling lights to guide their way through the corridor, but then Felicity squints. A bright light seeps through and she knows that Luthor and her father will be there waiting for them when they reach the end of the hallway.

            Oliver readies his bow again once they turn the corner. Felicity eyes widen at the set up in the large open area. The bright lights are for the camera, shining at the man sitting on a stool from every which angle. Darren Smoak breathes in shakily at the sight of her and Arrow, but keeps his body absolutely still so to keep his captor from pulling the trigger of the gun that is touching his right temple.

            “Quite impressive,” Luthor says with a smirk.

            Oliver walks closer with his arrow pulled back, his eyes on Luthor’s forehead. He keeps himself directly in front of Felicity, but she wants, no, _needs_ to see the man face to face. So she steps out from behind Oliver and stands beside him.

            “ _Felicity_ ,” he says with gritted teeth, but keeps his aim steady.

            “Let him go, Luthor,” she says, putting one foot forward. Her eyes are on Darren and his bloodshot eyes swivel to hers.

            “Please leave. Don’t do this. It’s not worth it,” he croaks.

            Felicity doesn’t reply to her father’s plea.

            “I’d do what she says, Luthor,” growls Oliver from behind her when the bald man starts chuckling.

            “So you figured it out, have you? What a wonderful father-daughter reunion,” Luthor says, clapping his hand onto Darren’s shoulder.  “You should be proud, Darren. She’s grown into quite a woman.”

            “Shut up, Luthor,” Darren snarls, his voice gravelly from the strains of the day.

            Felicity focuses on her breathing as she takes note of all the wrinkles in the hostage’s face.

            “His arrow will bury itself into your eye faster than you can pull your trigger. So it’s your call,” Felicity says coolly, stepping closer. “And by the way? Your plan? Didn’t work. You see, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern are all there, stopping your missiles. And yes, I did say Superman.”

            Luthor’s smile falters at the name, and Felicity grins.

            “You will _never_ kill Superman, Luthor,” Felicity says.

            She lets the bald man chew on that prophetic thought and clasps her hands behind her back.

            “We called the commissioner from MPD. This building is surrounded by cops. You’re finished. _Let him go_ ,” Oliver says, pulling the arrow back a little further to emphasize the threat.

            Luthor tightens his grip on Darren’s shoulder.

            “You have no proof that I did this. They all watched _him_ threaten the country. Not me,” he sneers.

            Felicity reaches into her pocket and pulls out her decryption device. It swings lazily from the chain that she attached.

            “Smith interrupted us in your server room, but I was still able to download key documents that have your name written all over them. Luthor, it’s over,” she says, and as those last two words fall from her lips, the energy suddenly runs out of her.

            All these months of trying to bring down Smith, traveling across the country to recruit Justice League members, disarming bombs, and fighting Luthor hit her in one crammed second. Then her chest tightens at the harsh reality of the fact that she’s in a hostage situation with her long lost father.

            Felicity longs for her bed in her apartment.

            And also red wine.

            Luthor narrows his eyes.

            “How about this? The drive for your father’s life.”

            Felicity scoffs.

            “Did you not hear me when I said his arrow is faster than your gun?”

            Luthor grins. “Well, it’s a good thing I have a back up plan. This is a wide area. You never know where a sniper might be hiding.”

            Oliver stiffens and steps forward.

            “Felicity, get back,” he demands.

            “Ah ah, she stays where she is. You too. The sniper has her in sight. You fire that arrow, my guy shoots her. Miss Smoak, if you give me the drive, I’ll walk away and leave you with your father. We can all walk out of here alive.”

            Felicity licks her bottom lip and wonders if she has a red dot on her forehead. It’s not like she can turn to Oliver, who’s standing a few steps behind her, and ask.

            Darren looks at her and shakes his head.

            “Don’t do it. I’m dead either way.”

            “Luthor!” Oliver shouts, his patience wearing thin. “Call him off.”

            Felicity stares at Darren. If she doesn’t give Luthor the device, she won’t be able to ask the thousand questions she’s had ever since she was a kid. The eleven year old girl in her would be furious at her for not solving the one mystery that matters, _her_ mystery, but that’s not why she brings her hand out with the device resting in her palm. This man has been through horrors that she can’t even imagine, and it’d be too cruel to have him shot by the likes of Lex Luthor – even for a crap father.

            No. That’s not it either. The reason is actually much simpler than that.

            She just needs her father to be safe.

            Felicity’s so wrapped up in her thoughts that she misses the silent exchange between Darren Smoak and Oliver Queen. So when Darren twists around and pounces on Luthor as Oliver quickly changes his target and fires his arrow towards his left at the spotted sniper, she feels utterly confused.

            Felicity can barely feel Oliver pulling her close because she’s too busy watching Darren punch Luthor repeatedly. He throws his entire body into it, sweat dripping off the ends of his hair, and she can hear his grunts get louder after each strike. His energy wears off, however, and he eases away from the unconscious body.

            Darren leans against the wall, panting and cradling his bloodied knuckles.

            “His men will be in here in less than a minute,” he rasps out to Oliver.

            Oliver shakes his head.

            “The MPD and their S.W.A.T. team took care of them,” he answers. He steps away from Felicity to give her some space so that she could go to Darren, but she doesn’t move.

            “Thank you,” Darren says hoarsely as he switches his attention to Felicity.

            Felicity’s mouth goes dry and her footsteps seem to echo inside her head. When she finally reaches the man, he looks down at the floor and puts his hands behind his back to touch the wall. Up so close, she’s shocked to see that he is only a few inches taller than her. She remembers him being taller.

            “I figured out your passcode,” Felicity says, surprised by her own voice.

            Darren looks up and nods.

            “That’s good. I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to – not that I think you’re dumb. You’re smart, very, very smart. I just –” he stops when she lets out a choked laugh.

            The tears well up in Felicity’s eyes.

            “You are a smart, beautiful woman,” Darren finishes.

            “Thank you,” she says.

            The silence sits in the air between them and even with the bright lights in the room, she feels chilly. She brings her hands up to rub her arms as she desperately tries to think of something to say. When the thought of getting out of the basement first floats up, she hears Oliver shout.

            “Felicity!”

            She then hears a loud crack as Darren knocks Felicity to the ground and she winces when her neck jerks back at the force. Even with his serious weight loss, due to the torture and time spent in captivity, he still feels heavy, and she struggles to catch her breath. Felicity grunts as she reaches to touch his shoulder but freezes when she feels something warm on her chest.

            Her ears muffle out the sounds of arrows whistling through the air and somebody clamoring away. When she moves her head to take stock of the situation, she sees an empty space where Luthor was lying just moments before.

            Nausea overwhelms her and Felicity shoves her father off of her to see him roll over onto his back. Her hands start to tremble when she takes note of how his arm lies over his chest awkwardly.

            “No,” she whispers as she carefully moves his arm and sees the dark red seeping through his filthy shirt.

            Felicity presses her hands on top of the wound and applies pressure while she whispers all the first aid steps that Diggle taught her when she first started out.

            “Apply pressure. Ch-check his pulse,” Felicity scrambles to put her bloodied fingers on his pulse point and gasps when his eyes flutter open. “Hey, it’s – it’s going to be okay. Just hang on.”

            Felicity feels Oliver kneel beside her and she’s overcome with relief. Arrow will save him. He knows what to do.

            “So s-sorry,” Darren croaks and then coughs out blood.

            “Shh. Don’t. You’re going to be fine. Just take it easy, okay? Oliver, do something, please,” she whispers towards the end, whipping her head around to face Arrow.

            Oliver’s eyes are hollow as he shakes his head.

            Felicity stares at him before looking back down at the man.

            “F-felicity,” Darren says firmly, as if he’s mustering all of the strength he has into saying this one word. He smiles, and she tries to smile back. Then his eyes glaze over giving Felicity the distinct impression of a host vacating a room.

            She inhales a sharp breath and puts her hand on his arm, wanting to shake him awake. His arm feels so thin and then her gaze is drawn away from his arm to his face. She has a sudden desire to trace her fingers over each crease of the man’s weathered face as if somehow, his wrinkles would tell her stories and answer all of her questions.

            “I’m so sorry,” Oliver whispers but he doesn’t touch her.

            She’s grateful for that.

            Felicity’s eyes fall to Darren’s thin mouth and she wonders if she’s ever seen him smile before tonight. Then she remembers him grinning as he told her the story of how he and her mother first met.

            At the thought of her mother, Felicity wrenches her hand away from the body and a sob nearly escapes her.

            Oliver puts a hand on her shoulder and then looks at her for permission. She nods and watches as Arrow gently closes her father’s eyes. She stays still when Oliver gathers her into his arms and feels him pressing his lips against her hair.

            “We have to go, Felicity,” he says softly.

            Felicity doesn’t answer.

            Oliver rises from the floor. Felicity peeks over Oliver’s shoulder and doesn’t take her eyes off her father’s corpse until Arrow turns the corner and it disappears from view.

            Then she buries her face into Oliver’s chest and clutches onto his leather jacket as she commits to memory her father’s green eyes.

 

 

 

_Two days later_

 

            Felicity steps out of the taxi with a suitcase in her hand after paying the driver. She shuts the door and then takes a deep breath when she sees her mother planting peonies in the garden. Margaret turns around and as soon as Felicity sees her eyes, she realizes that her mother knows. Of course, she knows. The footage of Darren Smoak played across news networks nonstop and Felicity finally had to stop herself from turning on the television or logging into online newspapers. She swallows as her mother stands up and peels off her dirty gloves.

            Felicity rolls her suitcase up the path and lets go to cross over onto the lawn.

            “Hey, Mom,” she says.

            Without a word, her mother sighs softly and embraces her while rubbing her back. The motion takes her back to nights long ago when she had nightmares.

            “You okay, sweetie?” Margaret asks after pulling back, to take a good look at Felicity’s face.

            Felicity nods and then looks back at the garden.

            “How about you? Should you be doing that?” she asks in concern.

            Her mother waves a hand and then reaches down to grab her gloves and trowel.

            “The doctor said I should be active. Come on, let’s go in. I think it might rain soon,” Margaret says, glancing up at the sky. She leads Felicity inside and closes the front door before she makes her way to the kitchen. “Do you want anything to drink, baby?”

            Felicity walks slowly over to the table with all the photos on it and picks up the one of her and her mother doing the dishes. She blows on the glass to get rid of the dust.

            “I’m okay, Mom.”

            When she hears her entering the living room, Felicity quickly puts the picture back down onto the table and grabs one of the glasses in her mother’s hands. Margaret shrugs.

            “I got you some iced tea anyway,” she says sheepishly and then sits down on the couch.

            “Thanks.” Felicity stands awkwardly and takes a sip of her tea.

            Margaret pats the space next to her on the couch and Felicity sinks her body down, wondering if she should tell her what happened. They sit in short silence before they both speak at the same time.

            “Mom –”

            “Do you think he really did it? All those horrible things they’re saying?” she asks shakily, clutching her own glass.

            Felicity shifts on the couch to look at her and touches her arm.

            “Mom, no. He didn’t. He was a hostage because of his skills and then they framed him,” Felicity explains, squeezing her mother’s arm in hopes of reassuring her.

            Margaret tilts her head.

            “How do you know? They didn’t say anything like that on the news,” she asks, the concern in her eyes.

            Felicity looks down and then puts the glass down on the stand next to the couch. She sighs.

            “I did some digging. There’s new evidence – _proof_ – that this was not his fault. It was some other guy. They’ll break the news in the next two hours. I-I have some friends in the journalism business,” she says, choosing each word carefully. “I just came to tell you that and I … wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”

            Her mother takes another slow sip of the glass but Felicity can tell she’s processing the words. When she lowers her tea, Margaret covers Felicity’s hand with hers on top of the couch.

            “When he left, I held onto that pain for so long that it all just became second nature. I couldn’t let go and didn’t even realize the pain I was causing _you_ ,” she says, lifting her hand from Felicity’s when her daughter draws in a sharp breath.

            “You don’t hold onto hate for that long unless a part of you still loves him, and when the hate and the resentment finally faded, that was all that was left. So when I saw his face on the news, I didn’t want to believe that he could do something like that. I didn’t want _you_ to believe that he was a bad man. He was flawed, but he wasn’t… _that_ ,” Margaret says.

            Felicity pulls her hand back into her lap and images of her pressing down on his chest, the blood running through her fingers make her throat clog. Suddenly, she feels warm and she lifts her head slightly to inhale.

            She wants to tell her how Darren Smoak died – how he died saving her life, but she can’t. Her mother will never know about her ex-husband’s last act.

            Felicity can only whisper, “I’m sorry.”

           Margaret shakes her head and cups Felicity’s chin. “Oh honey, you have nothing to be sorry about. This wasn’t your fault. _I’m_ sorry…for hurting you so badly. If I could go back and change everything, I would in a second, but I can’t.”

            The ache in her chest pierces a dam and a sob breaks out. Felicity slumps over as the tears that had been tucked away finally pour out. She welcomes the warmth of Margaret’s soft arms and she grips onto her mother’s shirt as a lifeline.

            “Oh, Felicity,” her mother whispers as she kisses the top of her head.

            They stay like that for awhile, getting used to how a tight embrace between them feels, and when Felicity pulls away she has to say one more thing. She wipes her eyes.

            “I’m sorry we both left you,” Felicity whispers.

            Margaret smiles, her own eyes bright with tears.

            “But baby, you came back.”

 

 

_Two weeks later_

 

            Felicity looks out through the small window above the kitchen sink as she finishes rinsing the last bowl. The sun shines through the glass as it usually does in Vegas. When she was young, she had been so excited that the new house had a backyard with actual _grass_. Now, she sees how small the yard actually is – just a mere patch of grass with some bushes lining the flimsy fence. The swing set that Robbie had installed still stands there, one side dug deeper into the grass and dirt than the other side.

            Felicity shuts off the faucet and flicks her hands out to get the water off before she wipes them on her dark jeans. With a glance towards the living room, she opens the back door and steps outside.

            The screen door creaks and slams shut, scaring away some of the birds on the tiny patio. Felicity walks down the steps and makes her way over to the swings. With a small grin, she pulls at the chains and lets go, watching it move from front to back. Front to back.

            She bites her lip, and grabs the chains in mid-motion. Carefully, Felicity settles into the small swing, making sure that it can still hold her weight. Then slowly, she starts pumping her legs.

            The exhaustion from sleep deprivation drains away as she glances at her feet stretched out in front of her. Each toenail is painted with a hot pink polish, and she can’t help but admire her handiwork with the contrast of the green grass.

            Then Felicity looks up at the sky and sighs.

            The nightmares haven’t stopped.

            When she wakes up in the middle of the night, panting and sweating, she has lots of time on her hands. So on that first night spent in her old bedroom, she went venturing inside her closet and found a box of old nail polish. Most of them were gross and dry, but she found a few that were still passable.

            Each day, her toes have been a different color but her mother doesn’t comment on them other than to say that they look nice. Although, by the way Margaret hands her a mug of hot coffee every morning as soon as she steps into the kitchen, Felicity knows that she can hear her at night. She’s thankful that she doesn’t ask any questions.

            Most of her nightmares involve her father covered in blood. Sometimes she dreams that Oliver was the one who took the hit for her and those nights are the worst. They’re bad enough that she reaches for her phone in the thick of the panic, but Felicity always stops herself just before she presses dial.

            The Justice League members found them when Oliver carried her out of the Daily Planet and right away, someone helped them get to Gotham City. She doesn’t remember who – maybe Barry. Maybe Clark. But some details of the night she _does_ remember, like scrubbing her hands underneath scalding water in the hotel sink, hyperventilating as she watched the blood drain.

            Oliver finally dragged her away after twisting the knobs so that cold water would run over her burnt hands. He led her into bed and pulled the blankets around her before settling onto the floor besides her. She curled into a fetal position and closed her eyes.

            Felicity then fell asleep to the sounds of them both breathing in and out and to the sounds of the traffic down below.

            But not before whispering, “I can’t do this.”

            Felicity wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that but Oliver didn’t question her next morning when he came back into the suite to find her packing with the TV on. He put down the tray of coffee and bagels and switched off the TV just as Darren Smoak’s face lit up on the screen.

            “What can I do?” he asked quietly.

            “My mom must be freaking out,” Felicity said, folding her clothes at a steady pace. “I have to go, Oliver.”

            So he helped her pack and they rode a taxi to the airport together. After Felicity checked in her luggage, it was time for them to part. She fiddled with the corner of her plane ticket but stopped when Oliver covered her hand with his.

            They shared a long wordless exchange before Felicity turned and walked away.

            Felicity startles out of her reverie when she hears rustling in the bush. A squirrel darts out across the lawn a few feet away from her and she starts pumping her legs again. Spending time with her mother has been easier than she expected and she’s discovering new things about her. For one, her mother is a big tea drinker – hot or iced, sweetened or unsweetened. She finds mugs of them everywhere around the house. Margaret has a habit of drinking her cup of tea, getting up to do something, and then brewing another one, having forgotten the previous cup. Felicity suspects tea has replaced alcohol and is thankful for the healthier alternative.

            Felicity brings her feet back down to the grass when she sees someone walk out of the back door of the house. Her lips part as Oliver makes his way through the yard with a soft smile on his face. He leans against the pole of the swing set and tilts his face. She looks up at him and has to squint with the sunlight bathing them both.

            “Hey,” he says.

            “You’re here, ” she says.

            At this, Oliver says nothing.

            He gets off the pole and then walks around so that he’s standing behind her. Felicity feels the swing pulling back and smiles when he gives her a little push. They stay in the silence and listen to the creak of the swing, chirps of the birds, and the sounds of kids playing in their own backyards.

            “You see that little hole in the fence?” Felicity asks after a few minutes as the swing slows down and points to the corner of the fence that serves as a barrier to a small rundown park. It looks as if someone dug the dirt underneath the fence to form a makeshift tunnel.

            Oliver turns to see and nods.

            “I did that when I was eight. It was my escape plan if I ever wanted to run away, which was often,” she says. “Mom didn’t notice, or, I don’t know. Maybe she pretended not to notice, but I came back at least an hour before sundown each time.”

            Oliver chuckles. “So you were always this responsible?”

            “I guess. I think I watched a lot of 20/20 or something – kids getting murdered or kidnapped. I was just being sensible,” she says.

            Oliver gives her another push.

            “I was always running away and Raisa was the one who chased me down. I think she swore at me in Russian one time, now that I think about it,” he murmurs.

            Felicity smiles.

            Then her smile wears off and she says, “I saw the news. Luthor got away, even with the evidence.”

            There’s a pause and Oliver takes hold of the chains to slow down the swing. Then he walks around to face her. She looks up at him as her feet brush against the grass.

            “A.R.G.U.S. covered for him. They needed him free because of his pull and aero-engineering skills. I tried, we all tried - I’m so sorry, Felicity, but we don’t know where he is,” he says, the frustration clear in his voice.

            Felicity nods. “At least we were able to clear Darren’s name. Mom was – she appreciated that, seeing it on the news.”

            Oliver leans in and wraps his hand just above hers around the swing.

            “That was all you, Felicity.”

            He smiles at her and then backs away. After looking up at the sky, he sits down on the grass with his arms resting on his knees. Felicity gets up and joins him.

            “I’m ready to go back. To Starling City, I mean,” she says as she stares at the hole in the fence.

            Oliver says nothing but she can see him looking at her through the corner of her eyes.

            “This doesn’t mean I’m done with the Justice League. I’m still going to help out,” she adds quickly, still not looking at him.

            “I know,” he says.

            A bird lands on top of the fence and flutters its wings before it settles down. At the same time, a breeze passes through, causing a wave throughout grass. She reaches down to touch the very tips of the blades with the palm of her hand. They tickle her and she breathes out, her eyes turning wistful.

            “You love me,” she says.

            Oliver nods as he watches the bird bring its beak down. “I do.”

            Felicity turns to face him.

            “So what are we going to do?”

            He meets her eyes. He smiles.

            “We’ll figure it out.”

            They sit in comfortable silence and after awhile, Felicity rests her head on Oliver’s shoulder.

 

 

_Three days later_

 

            “I’m going to miss you, Smoak,” Gordon says. She brings her hands together in her lap and smiles.

            Felicity looks around at the basement and shakes her head.

            “Gordon, I still want to be a part of this. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she replies. Her eyes land on a pile of metal pieces and a bunch of wires laid out carefully on the floor. “Um…what’s that?”

            Gordon sighs.

            “Allen. He’s been experimenting.”

            Felicity looks at her with an arched eyebrow. “With what?”

            Gordon grins. “It’s actually … kind of cool. They should be here soon. I’ll let him explain.”

            Felicity furrows her eyebrows in confusion but lets it go. She sinks down into her chair and leans back with a long sigh. When she straightens back up, Felicity sees Gordon looking at her with thoughtful eyes.

            “I’m sorry about your father. Oliver told me,” Gordon says quietly. “Luthor’s a bast – we’ll get him. Somehow.”

            Felicity nods and swallows.

            “Thanks. I appreciate it,” she says.

            Fortunately, Gordon seems to catch on to the fact that Felicity doesn’t want to talk about this anymore and she wheels over to her. She pushes Felicity and her chair out of the way and pulls up a document on the computer. 

            “So, I have a proposal for you,” Gordon says.

            Felicity peers at the screen and reads the large block letters, “ ‘Oracle Systems.’ What’s that?”

            Gordon turns to her and flashes her a wide smile that takes Felicity back to the first day she met her. Felicity licks her bottom lip nervously as she waits for her former boss to explain.

            “It’s the name of a new start up computer software firm,” Gordon says, the smile not disappearing.

            Felicity looks at the screen again. “Whoa, you’re starting a company? What about Project ORACLE?”

            “It’ll still be here at Wayne Enterprises, and I’ll be helming it. Bruce has some other project he wants me to work on as well. But I’ve been wanting to do start a software company for awhile now and I finally got enough momentum to do it. The thing is, I’ll be busy here, so I might have trouble with the day to day stuff. I need someone to run it, kind of like what Lucius does for Bruce. So…” Gordon trails off.

            Felicity looks at Gordon, her eyes wide.

            “Are you serious?”

            Gordon nods.

            “Yes, I want you to run it. I mean, would – will you? Oracle Systems will be small for now, but I can still offer you comprehensive benefits. Your salary will be great – ” Gordon revs up.

            Felicity puts out a hand to stop her.

            “Wow. This is – this is amazing, Gordon. I can’t even begin to thank you, but … I want to be in Starling City. I need to go back.”

            Gordon breaks out into a grin.

            “Smoak, we can build the firm wherever you want. Pick out an office and we’ll rent it until we can buy up our own property. It’s no problem. I guess I’ll just have to be a frequent visitor of Starling City,” she responds with a shrug.

            Felicity opens her mouth and then shuts it. Then she opens it again.  

            “Oh my God,” she says, leaning back in her chair again, stunned.

            “So?” Gordon presses.

            “Yes, I’ll do it! Thank you!” Felicity exclaims and launches her arms around her boss. Gordon grunts and pats her awkwardly on her back.

            Felicity pulls away, her smile bright.

            “This means I’ll still send you to recruit from time to time, you know, while I have you under my employment,” Gordon warns, but there’s a twinkle in her eyes.

            “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Felicity replies.

            Then a sudden loud electrical humming sound makes Felicity look around at the basement with a frown. She notices three large rings attached to the ceiling that she somehow missed before.

            “What the…”

            She sees two flashes of purple light. Felicity blinks at the brightness and when her eyes are open again, she sees Superman and the Flash standing in the middle of the basement.

            She blinks again.

            Barry smiles widely as he steps out of a ring, which is now on the ground.

            “Yes! It works!” he whoops.

            Superman glares at him.

            “You didn’t _know_ that it would work? Are you saying I could have materialized God knows where?” he asks, his voice deep in irritation.

            Barry’s eyes widen. “No, I mean, well, yes. But I’ve tested on rats so many times, and tripled checked every calculation. You were in safe hands…Felicity! Hey, did you _see_ that?”

            Felicity stares at him.

            “H-how? W-what?” she stammers.

            Barry smiles. “The particle accelerator – it changes everything we know about physics. It’s a transporter. If you press the button on this watch, it’ll automatically transport you here, inside the building. Gets rid of our problem, but guess what?”

            Felicity glances back at Gordon and Clark nervously.

            “What?” she says.

            “Headquarters in space? We can _totally_ do it,” he says.

            Clark makes his way over to Felicity and puts his hand on her shoulder as they both watch Barry and Gordon talk excitedly about schematics while standing over the pile of metal and wires.

            “I know _I’m_ the alien from outer space, but am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?” he says in a low voice.

            Felicity shakes her head, still staring at them.

            “Nope. Not at all.”

            Clark brings his hand back down.

            “It’s good to see you,” he says, “I – we’ve missed you.”

            Felicity faces him and gives him a warm smile.

            “Thanks, Clark,” she says.

            Clark smiles back at her.

            Then they both turn to look at Barry, who just caused a large spark in one of the wires. He scratches the back of his head as he peeks at Gordon, who’s glaring at him.

            “Sorry, my bad,” Barry says sheepishly.

 

 

_Six weeks later_

“That’s the last shipment of drugs. There aren’t any more left to destroy. Come back home,” Felicity says through her comm link as she swings around in her chair. She looks up to see Laurel land face first on the mat with a groan.

            Sara sighs and gives her sister a hand back up. Laurel spits out a mouthful of hair and picks up the stick to go again.

            “Laurel, maybe we should take a break,” Sara suggests after taking a large gulp from her water bottle.

            “I can do this. I just need more practice,” Laurel replies, determined. Sara glances at Felicity, and Felicity just shrugs.

            The Lance sisters go back to sparring and Felicity looks on with a grin. After Sara and Laurel came back to help save the people in Gotham Square, Sara decided to stay for awhile – to pay respects to her father and to provide some stability and training for Laurel as she worked on becoming the next Canary.

             They never said what happened in Tibet, but they came back with a group of assassins that went rogue from the League. Once their services weren’t needed anymore, the assassins left – all except one. One long lanky assassin stuck around and judging by the sidelong glances he keeps sending Laurel’s way, Felicity can see why he decided to stay.

            Finally, the assassin intervenes before Laurel passes out from exhaustion and takes her home.

            “See you later,” Laurel says, somewhat out of breath, as he drags her out.

            Sara and Felicity wave her and her companion goodbye.

            “So, Laurel and an assassin … you know, I can actually see that working,” Felicity quips, leaning back in her chair.

            Sara chuckles and shakes her head. “ _Ex_ -assassin, as Laurel keeps reminding me. Who knows…I don’t think Laurel’s quite caught on yet.”

            They both turn when they hear the guys coming in. Oliver and Roy both pull down their hoods, while Dig shrugs off his jacket and puts his gun back in its place. Roy huffs as he puts his equipment down as well.

            “As much as I like setting drugs on fire, I hope something more exciting comes up… _soon_ ,” Roy says and then winces when he sees Oliver giving him a stern look. “I mean, something a little more challenging.”

            Oliver shakes his head and sets down his quiver.

            “Get some rest, Roy,” he replies. Roy nods and salutes him cheekily before he turns to leave.

            When the young man is gone, Oliver stretches out his neck and rolls back his shoulders. He then looks over at Felicity’s computer and speaks.

            “The kid’s right. Is there anything? No mob activity, bank robberies, anything?”

            Felicity clicks through the screen and says, “Nope. It’s peaceful for once in Starling City.”

            “That always bodes well,” Dig says drily, crossing his arms.

            Felicity grins and then shrugs. “Don’t know what to tell you.”

            Oliver sighs and puts his hand on her shoulder.

            “Then we should all go home and rest while we can,” he says, glancing around at his teammates.

            Felicity nods and stands up as she gathers up her purse, her jacket, and a large stack of papers.

            “I have an early morning tomorrow. Oliver, you’re still coming right? I have a file for you to read up on before we recruit the guy. His history’s quite tragic –” she starts but Oliver puts up his hand with a weary grin.

            “I’ll just follow your lead, okay? Let me get changed, and I’ll take you home,” he says.

            As he trudges out to change, Sara arches an eyebrow at Felicity.

            “So you and Oliver, any updates?” she asks.

            Just as Felicity opens her mouth to speak, Dig interrupts.

            “They’re taking it slow. _Very_ slow,” he drawls.

            Felicity jabs him in the ribs with her elbow and then sighs.

            “Yeah, what he said,” she replies.

            When Oliver comes back out in a shirt and jeans, he smiles at Felicity before taking her hand. She entwines her fingers around his and he gives her a tight squeeze. He then gives Sara and Dig a tired wave and turns on his feet as he leads her out of the lair.

            “Are we taking your motorcycle today?” she asks with some anticipation as she hears Dig switch off the lights in the distance.

            Oliver smiles.

            “Just remember to hang on tight.”

 

 

_One day later_

 

            “Holy shi-” Oliver starts as he stares at the potential member of the Justice League.

            Felicity shoots him a glare as she stomps on his foot, and then sticks out her hand towards the possible new recruit with a warm smile.

            “Hi, J’onn J’onzz?” she asks.

            J’onzz nods and shakes her hand with his, which is mint green at closer inspection. Her smile falters when she realizes he looks quite grim.

            Not that she knows what Martians usually look like when they’re grim.

            Felicity takes a deep breath on the Manhunter’s doorstep, and smiles again before she continues.

            “My name is Felicity Smoak, and this is my associate, Oliver Queen. J’onn, we’re here to convince _you_ to join the Justice League. Can we come in?”

 

 

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Thank you so much for reading this story and sticking with me! I appreciated every comment and review left here and on Tumblr. This is actually a first for me - to finish a work as long as this. It's been 201 pages of craziness and fun, and I have you guys to thank. Your reviews, kudos, and Tumblr posts all cheered me on!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this last chapter of Break. :)


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